Major Health and Lifestyle Issues - Essay Example

Major Health and lifestyle Issues Health and Lifestyle issues Introduction The world health organisation has defined health as a state of optimum functioning of the physical, psychological, mental and social aspects of a human being. This, therefore, mean that being health entails more than being physically fit. Currently, there are many issues that are affecting health of humanity. These issues threaten to cause great and early onset disabilities and loss of lives. The World health Organisation recognises these issues as the main contributors to the increasing burden of disease in the world. The major issue currently facing the health of humanity connect health and lifestyle. The connection is that the kind of lifestyle that a person exhibits predisposes him or her to a health issue. These issues include the cancers, obesity and cardiac conditions. They are closely related to lifestyles and behaviours such as smoking, diet and nutritional changes and overweight, and alcohol and drugs abuse. This paper will deal with some of these health and lifestyle issues in depth. Cancer Cancer is a serious and potentially fatal condition that affects the body cells. The disease is as a result of a combination of hereditary and environmental factors that result to gene mutation (Gray 2005). When cell growth regulatory genes are mutated, they fail to regulate cell growth resulting in an aberrant cell behaviour, uncontrolled expansion of cell masses that destroy the cell surrounding by causing excess pressure on organs and tissues. This affects the functions of the organs. In extensive case, the aberrant cells are disseminated in other parts of the body causing the spread of the cancer, a phenomenon called metastasis (UK 2014). When the cancer metastasis to vital organs, it spreads faster, and the prognosis becomes poor. The environmental factors that result to cancer includes exposure to carcinogens, which are present in some foods, water and air. Tobacco and diet have been found to be the causes of up to 30% of new cancer cases in the world. This means that much of the cancer is preventable. According to WHO, cancer is among the leading causes of mortality in the world. In 2012, the disease caused an approximate of 8.2 million deaths. There are many kinds of cancers, named according to the affected organ (Naidoo &Wills 2010). Lung, liver, gastric, colorectal, and breast cancers are the most common and the main causes of the cancer-related deaths in that order (DeVita, Hellman, & Rosenberg 2005, p. 26). It is estimated that one-thirds of the cancer deaths are related to behavioural and lifestyle changes which include dietary risks, increased incidence of overweight and obesity, reduced physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use. In low and middle income countries, of Africa, Asia and South America, 20% of cancer cases are as a result of cancer-causing viral infections including Human Papilloma Virus, and Hepatitis B and C viruses. The regions account for more than 70% of cancer-related deaths annually. The WHO has predicted that the disease burden due to cancer will increase from 14 million affected people in 2012 to more than 22 million before the year 2030 (Cancer Research UK 2012). The risk factors for cancer, therefore, involve a combination of hereditary and lifestyle (environmental) factors. These factors include smoking, alcohol abuse, unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, overweight and infections with the cancer-causing viruses aforementioned. A lower incidence of cancer results from chronic exposure to cancer causing radiations or chemicals related to occupational health or environmental pollution. The UK government has established cancer policies that are focused on improving the cancer outcomes and reducing the burden of disease by first tackling the incidences of new infections. The two main policies “Helping More people Survive Cancer (2013)” and “The National Cancer Strategy (2013)” are applied in close relation to the Cancer Research UK which is the official professional body with the responsibility to provide the government with cancer information to help in policy making and strategy formation (Department of Health 2013). Through these policies activities and interventions, the government and other stakeholders have been able to initiate campaigns against cancer that have been targeting the preventable causes of cancer including lifestyle change. One of these campaigns is the “Be clear on Cancer Campaign” that creates awareness on cancer, identification of signs and prevention of risk factors. The campaign aims at increasing the general population’s awareness of cancer and the related factors to enhance prevention of this fatal disease. This is being implemented together with the Cancer Research UK’s strategy for reducing the number of deaths from cancer that has been running from 2009 (Ellison & Department of Health 2013). Smoking Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable illnesses in the world. It has a direct effect on health of an individual in terms of reducing the efficiency of the lungs in gaseous exchange and reducing life expectancy, besides, smoking is the main cause of lung cancer in the world, contributing to over 15 % of cancer-related deaths globally. Besides causing cancer, tobacco smoking has been associated to disorders of the heart and circulatory system, infertility especially in women. Skin cancer and a whole range of other health and social issues. Tobacco is classified as an addictive substance whose abuse causes dependence as a long-term effect. The smoke from tobacco is said to contain more than 7,000 harmful chemicals. Of these, 69 are known to be carcinogenic and therefore increase the risk for cancer development in the smokers. Among the current smokers, lung disease leading to lung cancer is estimated to occur in 73% of them (Allender et al. 2009). The World Health organisation has also raised concerns about the risk of passive smoking. In this concern, it has been indicated that living with a smoker predisposes one to the risk of cancers and lung diseases just like a smoker. A report from the World Health organisation in 2009 indicated that about 1 billion people in the world are smokers. The figure represents a fifth of the world adult population. Men are considered to be more chronic smokers than women accounting for over 60% of the smokers’ population in the world. In a Facts report released in 2014, WHO states that smoking kills more than half of the smokers, this translates to more than 6 million people annually. The most disturbing part of the report is that out of the six million deaths, one million are as a result of second-hand or passive smoking (Coleman et al. 2010). This means that the level of exposure to tobacco smoke for the passive smokers is also high enough to cause considerable health risk. Smoking is a major cause of public health problems in the world. It has a direct effect on the respiratory tract due to a reduction in the capacity of the lungs to efficiently assist in gaseous exchange. In addition, tobacco smoking predisposes the user to other health problems including cancers, infertility and cardiovascular problems. The addictive ingredient in tobacco is nicotine. This chemical is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and reaches the brain within minutes of starting to smoke. The chemical is responsible for the feeling of pleasure and energy due to stimulation of epinephrine release. The risk factors for smoking include peer pressure and the need to belong to a social group, lack of education on the dangers of tobacco, easy access to tobacco and cigarette and living with people who smoke in the family or at workplace. These factors lead to a previous non-smoker becoming a tobacco user (McIntyre 2005). Tobacco smoking is a gradual killer. This means that there is so much time between the start of smoking and the onset of the health problems. However, once the problems set in, even the cessation of smoking does not help much in improving prognosis (Croucher, Islam, & Pau 2007, p. 456). Campaign against smoking in the UK has been intensified due to the close relationship between smoking and cancer. Most of the activities, therefore, happen together with the cancer campaign and policies implementation. The ASH organisation (Action on Smoking and Health) is a UK based organisation that drives the specific campaign against the use of tobacco in the kingdom and by extension the whole world. The campaign has been successful in reducing the prevalence of smoking from its highest point of 82% in 1948 to below 20% in 2012. Currently, the organisation identifies that there are about 10 million smokers in UK (Action on Smoking and Health 2014). However, the population of former smokers is increasing, an indication that the smoking cessation campaigns have been effective. The proportion of new smokers is relatively low, involving mainly the teens in school. The policy makers are, therefore, focusing efforts on teen’s education to reduce the incidence of new cases (Peto 2000, p. 245). The education is expected to reduce the uninformed imitation that is currently taking place in schools in relation to smoking. The UK policy on reduction of smoking has currently banned all TV promotions and advertisement of tobacco and cigarette. The 2013 policy has also launched anti-smoking campaigns in enforcement of the policy requirements and those of previous bans of tobacco smoking in public places (Ellison & Department of Health 2013). Diet, nutrition and obesity The body obtains the energy to function and for the growth of the cells from the food that one eats. The food, therefore, must provide adequate energy for the maintenance of body functions. When this energy is inadequate, the body starts to use stored resources from the adipose tissues and the muscles. This happens in starvation and fasting. When, on the other hand, the body receives excess of the required energy from food, the body stores the surplus energy in adipose tissues in form of fat. This fat is deposited under the skin and around vital organs to be used as protective cushioning. With increased storage, the person continues to gain weight and overweight and obesity results (Atter et al. 2011). The stored fat around vital organs such as the heart and the blood vessels causes reduced efficiency of the organs. This predisposes one to cardiovascular diseases and other related health conditions such as cancers and diabetes. Obesity results from progressive weight gain as an effect of increased dietary intake of calories with reduced exercise. The body weight, therefore, increases disproportionately to the height giving a body mass index of over 29.9. In addition to obesity, other nutrition problems are malnourishment and reduced intake of vital food elements causing deficiency diseases. However, these are not lifestyle issues (Atter et al. 2011). Obesity has been indicated by the WHO as an emerging issue in health. This is due tom the increasing prevalence of obesity in the world, currently involving even the middle and lower income countries. In the UK, 67% of men and 57% of women are suffering from either being overweight (BMI above 25) or obese (BMI above 30). The country, therefore, has the highest prevalence of obesity in the Western Europe region. About 2 billion people in the world are either overweight or obese. These statistics are alarming as they indicate an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers in the future (WHO & FAO 2003). The main risk for obesity is uncontrolled consumption of sugary and high calories foods and drinks. The emergence of fast foods has increased the availability of these foods especially among the children whose prevalence of obesity is on the increase. The condition is also directly related to lack of physical exercise. The sedentary lifestyle that characterises the modern life increases the risk for obesity among the old and the young alike (Reilly & Dorosty 1999). The UK government has set up policies to reduce the prevalence of obesity. In the policy, “Reducing Obesity and Improving Diet (2013)”, the government seeks to encourage responsible businesses, increase the public awareness of obesity and its negative effects and assist them in making healthy choices (Ellison & Department of Health 2013). The policy aims at streamlining the food industry to ensure healthier products reach the consumers. Concurrently, the policy has a campaign on increasing physical activities. Substance Misuse: Alcohol Alcohol misuse is a worldwide problem that has been present for many years. The effects of alcohol on health are well known and taught all over the world. However, the prevalence of alcoholism has been on the increase as indicated by the number of new abusers of the substances annually. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that causes dependence and addiction. Harmful use of the substance causes intoxication that leads to liver failure and the gastrointestinal corrosion. These two health issues predispose an alcoholic to cancer of the affected organ. However, with liver destruction, death is rather faster (Oscar-Berman & Marinkovic 2003). The worldwide alcohol consumption is at an alarming rate, with the 2010 statistics indicating that the yearly consumption was equal to 6.2 litres of alcohol per person 15 years or older (World Health Organisation 2010). The population of alcoholics is highly underreported with the available statistics indicating that there are more than 2 billion people with alcoholism problems in the world. Most alcoholics are also smokers, and this worsens the condition and their predisposition to health problems. Alcohol has been associated with the increased prevalence of colon and gastrointestinal cancer (Spanagel 2009). The risks for alcoholism include early exposure to the substance when living in a family of alcoholics; peer pressure and the need to belong to a social group; frustrations in life and psychological stress as a result of socioeconomic status; and lack of education on the dangers of alcoholism. The relative ease of access of alcoholic drinks in the world has increased the risk of having even younger alcoholics who are getting exposed to the substance in schools and low socioeconomic surrounding. Alcoholism can be regarded as an issue that affects mainly the middle and lower socioeconomic class of people (Spanagel 2009). These are the main issues that the UK government policy on alcohol, reducing harmful drinking has been established to handle. The policy proposes lower-risk drinking guidelines that identifies that for men, drinking less than four units of alcohol per day has low health risk. For women, this should be less than three units in a day. Further, the policy has campaigns to help people change their drinking behaviours by involving them in education to the younger generations and the Chane4Life campaign. The campaigns have been successful in reducing the level of alcoholism in the country and helping people to make healthy choices. It has also resulted to behavioural change and reduced socioeconomic problems related to alcoholism (Ellison & Department of Health 2013). Conclusion Personal and population health is important. To ensure maintenance of a healthy body and an active mind, major issues in health have to be dealt with. The reports included here identify four major health and lifestyle issues and their relationship to the world disease burden, however, the good news is that all these issues affecting health are preventable and easily controlled through behavioural change and policy making and implementation. The steps taken by the government, and the WHO should be supported by personal initiatives to moderate lifestyle and diet. References Action on Smoking and Health. (2014). Current Policy Issues. Retrieved from http://ash.org.uk/current-policy-issues Allender, S. et al., 2009. The burden of smoking-related ill health in the UK. Tobacco control, 18, pp.262–267. Atter, N. et al., 2011. Obesity in the UK : A Psychological Perspective, Available at: http://www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/pat_rep95_obesity_web.pdf. Cancer Research UK, 2012. CancerStats: Cancer Statistics for the UK. Online Source. www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/. Available at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/. Coleman, T. et al., 2010. Relapse prevention in UK stop smoking services: Current practice, systematic reviews of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis. Health Technology Assessment, 14, pp.1–181. Croucher, R. E., Islam, S. S., & Pau, A. K. (2007). 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