MANAGING THE
HEALTH RISKS
Dinesh
C. Sharma*
In today’s fast-paced
life, our health is under attack from innumerable sources – stress,
environmental pollution, unhealthy work conditions, industrial
smoke, unsafe water, noise and so on. The average number of visits
to the doctor that we make for ourselves or for our children has
gone up in the past decade or so despite the fact that health
science and the medical field have witnessed revolutionary advances
in the same period. In that sense, our health is at greater risk
than what it was a decade or two ago.
It is everybody’s
wish to lead a healthy, longer life and to avoid visits to the
doctor or hospitals. In order to do so, it is necessary that we
identify risks to our health and then try to manage them. Although
there are many definitions of the word "risk", experts
of the World Health Organisation (WHO) define it as "a probability
of an adverse outcome, or a factor that raises this probability".
Going by this definition also, we see that there are countless
threats or risks to human health. We all know about risks such
as bacteria and the viruses that cause a number of infectious
diseases. These risks sometimes cannot be prevented. When health
experts talk about risks to human health, they are referring to
factors other than viruses and bacteria.
A synthesis of research
data and scientific evidence from different countries and regions
has helped in defining the major risks to health globally. The
WHO has recently published a report based on a massive world wide
research exercise. According to this report, ten leading risk
factors across the globe are : underweight, unsafe sex, high blood
pressure, tobacco consumption, alcohol consumption, unsafe water,
sanitation and hygiene, iron deficiency, indoor smoke from solid
fuels, high cholesterol and obesity. Together, these factors account
for more than one-third of all deaths worldwide!
This means that a
relatively small number of risk factors cause a huge number of
premature deaths and account for a very large share of the global
burden of disease. The risk factors differ for the poor and the
rich parts of the world. The top ten risks to health in the so-called
rich or developed countries are – tobacco, blood pressure, alcohol,
cholesterol, overweight, low fruit and vegetable intake, physical
inactivity, illicit drugs, unsafe sex and iron deficiency. This
is not to assume that these factors do not apply to people in
the poor or developing countries. These factors also very much
apply to the rich living in the developing countries. Overweight,
obesity, physical inactivity, cholesterol and so on are certainly
the risk factors for a lot of urbanites in India.
The risks from blood
pressure and cholesterol – strongly linked to heart attacks and
strokes- are also closely related to excessive consumption of
fatty, sugary and salty foods. They pose greater dangers when
combined with tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption. Obesity,
a result of unhealthy consumption coupled with physical inactivity,
is itself a serious health risk. Overweight and obesity lead to
adverse metabolic changes, including increase in blood pressure,
unfavorable cholesterol levels and increased resistance to insulin.
They raise the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes
mellitus and even many forms of cancer. Globally, close to a billion
people are overweight and 300 million of them are clinically obese.
Most of the risk
factors discussed in the world body’s report are strongly related
to patterns of living and particularly to consumption – it can
be a case of either too much or too little. While the poor – facing
risks like underweight and unsafe drinking water – are suffering
because there is little choice for them, the rich are suffering
because they are making wrong choices in terms of consumption
and activity. About 1.7 million deaths a year globally are attributed
to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene, mainly through infectious
diarrhoea. Nine out of ten such deaths are in children, and virtually
all of the deaths are in the developing countries. The
WHO report says that while eating fruits and vegetables can help
prevent cardiovascular diseases and some cancers, their low intake
as part of the diet is responsible for almost three million deaths
due to these diseases every year. At the same time, changes in
living and working patterns have led to less physical activity
and labour. The report finds that physical inactivity causes about
15 per cent of some cancers, diabetes and heart disease.
One must not sit
back and wait for the governments and WHO to act. Start identifying
risks to your health in your living and working environments.
While obesity, physical inactivity and unhealthy food habits are
all common risks and must be managed, there are other risks associated
with individuals. Many of them are occupational, like low back
pain which is a result of wrong seating or working posture. It
is an ‘ergonomic stressor’ and is leading to serious diseases.
A lot of respiratory diseases are associated with indoor smoke
or dampness at home or at work places. This is in addition to
risk from air pollution and particulate matter. Risks from injuries
at work or while driving can be reduced by taking appropriate
measures like wearing protective gear or seat belts. Unsafe health
care practices can lead to serious injuries and exposure to diseases
in clinics, nursing homes and hospitals.
So, the time to act
is now. The WHO’s report has only provided a new, scientific meaning
to the age-old adage "prevention is better than cure".
(PIB Features)
*Columnist
on science, technology and health-related issued.
