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New Delhi, Apr 5 (IANS): Indians face an increasing threat
from "lifestyle" diseases, of which inactivity alone claims two
million lives globally every year, experts warned Friday.
Indians, particularly the younger generation, are
increasingly facing problems due to overweight, blood pressure, stress, high
cholesterol and diabetes, all of which are a fallout
of physical inactivity, the experts said at a news conference here ahead of
World Health Day that is being observed Sunday.
Thus, the "Move for Health" motto of World
Health Day is not only aimed at increasing life spans but also the quality of
life, said the experts.
"The world over there is a notable shift from
infectious diseases to 'lifestyle' diseases," said World Health
Organisation regional director Uton Muchtar Rafei.
Recent research in the U.S.
has revealed that a 10-minute moderate workout thrice a day or 15 minutes
twice a day, walking and even cycling could be the key to a longer lifestyle.
"Skip, dance, walk or play - the choice is yours if
you want to lead a healthy lifestyle that does away with aches and pains and
keep your body in fit condition," said Rafei.
"Studies show that up to 80 percent of coronary heart
disease, 90 percent of diabetes and about one third of cancers can be avoided
through a change in lifestyle," said Rafei.
Globally, non-communicable or "lifestyle" diseases
account for nearly 60 percent of deaths. By 2020, this is expected to rise to
73 percent.
Surprisingly, it is not the industrially developed but the
developing countries that have recorded a greater increase in
non-communicable diseases.
In 1999, developing countries accounted for 79 percent of
deaths from non-communicable diseases. The figure is expected to rise to 85
percent by 2020.
Studies in New Delhi
have revealed that it is not the well off but the poor and the
underprivileged that are increasingly falling victim to sedentary lifestyles.
One reason for this is the migration from villages to urban centres.
Among non-communicable diseases, cardiovascular diseases
account for the highest number of deaths. Of the 15 million deaths due to
cardiovascular disease worldwide in 1990, 2.5 million occurred in India
alone.
The incidence of diabetes is the highest in India
with 20 million contracting a disease that in 50 percent of cases can be
avoided through a healthy lifestyle. By 2020, the number of diabetics in India
is expected to touch 58 million.
By 2020, around seven million Indians are expected to die
of heart related diseases if they do not change their sedentary lifestyle,
warned K. Srinath Reddy, professor of cardiology at
the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Reddy is part of a team conducting a six-year study on
changing lifestyles and the impact of this on life and health. Around 200,000
people have been covered under the survey.
The study is part of "efforts to sensitise
corporates about the need for a healthy
lifestyle," said Reddy. He has also conducted two seminars on the
subject for the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
In India,
while infant mortality has been reduced, "it is up to the people
themselves how they lead their remaining lives," stressed Reddy, who
through various NGOs has been reaching out to various sections of society to
motivate a healthy lifestyle that makes room for physical activity.
"Instead of playing games outdoors, children seem to
prefer watching these on television," lamented Sawat Ramaboot, acting
director of the Department of Social Change and Non-communicable Diseases in
the health ministry.
- Lola Nayar -
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