AS modern society has progressed, we’ve been doing things a lot faster. Everything is more efficient. Technology is there to help us accomplish our tasks; with this, comes progress. There is more income to purchase not just our needs but also some, if not all, our wants. I do not like saying that society has become more lazy. We accomplish more, and go through more information now in a day than what we used to do in a week.
But with the price of progress, we’ve seen an increase in lifestyle diseases. Lifestyle diseases are illnesses that are a result of lifestyle, physical habits, or nutritional habits. While decades ago the problem was with malnutrition, nowadays, we have problems with undernutrition and overnutrition!
Why just now? As a society, we’ve become more sedentary, the things that we have to make work easier enable us to get by with less physical activity to do our daily tasks. Decades ago, we had to wash clothes by hand.
Now? Who still does that anyway?
There is an abundance of food high in calories but low in nutrients, processed food loaded with fat, salt and carbohydrates. While this would’ve been welcome in places with prevalent malnutrition, clearly food like these aren’t beneficial in a society with ample food supply. These foods are cheap, tasty and addictive! It’s no coincidence that we’re seeing a prevalence of hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, obesity, adult onset diabetes, in individuals as young as 30 years old! Note that these diseases typically struck then when one was of advanced age. I hope it’s not a sign that our 30-year-olds now might have the health of 60-year-olds.
How do we win this fight?
Make education and prevention a priority
Don’t wait for more people to be sick. We have to alert our population to the perils of not taking care of our health and improper nutrition. Companies could be better off if cafeteria food was planned to include healthier options.
Start them young
Healthy eating and exercise education should be lobbied as part and parcel of academic policy.
Plan for the community to be healthier
Opt for more green open spaces, more walkable pathways and malls that encourage more walking. These are simple things perhaps our community can do to make our society more vibrant and active!
The battle for better public health can be won and it starts with us one day at a time.