How to Prevent Lifestyle Diseases?
Written by Dr. Hariharan V and medically reviewed by iCliniq medical review team.
In the olden days, we had food scarcity and too much physical work. So obesity and lifestyle diseases were less among people. In those times people used to eat heavily when more food was available and eat less when no food was available. Then came the agricultural revolution era and a smart public distribution system. Food become abundant. It became impossible to change our centuries' old habit and we started eating more.Then came industrial, IT developments and opening up of markets. It created the following things:
- Less physical work.
- Too much mental strain.
- Odd working hours.
- Availability of cheap tasty junk foods.
All these started leading to lifestyle diseases like obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Then came the medical era (the current period), when the incidences of the above said diseases started growing out of proportions. Nowadays we have started realizing that
- We are over eating.
- We are eating junk calories, food with high fat and salt content.
- We are leading a sedentary lifestyle.
We have started seeing our parents, relatives, friends getting these diseases, and we have come to know that there is no escape, since they too lead a similar lifestyle. This is the awareness era. Now availability of resources like internet and health magazines are changing people's mind to lead a healthy and fit life.
How to Lead a Healthy Lifestyle and Avoid Lifestyle Diseases?
- Stop smoking, reduce alcohol consumption to once a week (two drinks only, it is better if avoid alcohol).
- Control your existing illnesses like diabetes and hypertension by dedicated dieting and regular consultation with your physician.
- Physical activity: 40 minutes a day, minimum 5 days a week.
- Stop junk foods completely, reduce sugar, salt and oil consumption.
- Sleep well (5-8 hours). Everybody has a different biological clock. A refreshing night's sleep varies from person to person. For some 5 hours is enough, for some they need 8 hours. Find out which person you are and start sleeping for the correct time.
Consult a family physician online for queries regarding lifestyle diseases --> https://www.icliniq.com/ask-a-doctor-online/family-physician
Last reviewed at: 07.Sep.2018RATING
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