Unhealthy lifestyle increases the risk of non-communicable diseases

Cardiologist Dr. According to Rajendra Koju, most of the patients who come to the OPD have high blood pressure, diabetes, chest pain and heart problems. All these are non-communicable diseases. It is his experience that many people ignore it even though they are aware that healthy eating and exercise make the body fit. Due to lack of discipline in food, obesity is also increasing in children. "Eating too much fat and sweets but no physical exercise and fat accumulates." On the other hand, pollution has also made many people sick, Dr. Koju says.

40 million die annually from non-communicable diseases

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 40 million die from non-communicable diseases annually. Which is equal to 74 percent of deaths worldwide. Every year, 17 million people die from non-communicable diseases before the age of 70. 77 percent of those who die from non-communicable diseases are from low- and middle-income countries.

Cardio vascular disease (CVD) kills 17.9 million people annually, 9.3 million people die from cancer, and 4.1 million people die from chronic respiratory diseases. The main cause of non-communicable diseases is unhealthy lifestyle. Consumption of tobacco products, lack of physical exercise, drinking and smoking, unhealthy diet, air pollution are playing an important role in causing non-communicable diseases. Non-communicable diseases have a long-term and usually slow effect.

According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Population and the Nepal Health Research Council in 2019 with the support of the World Health Organization, more than 71 percent of citizens have lost their lives due to non-communicable diseases. It is necessary to pay attention to the prevention of

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is a chronic disease that cannot be transmitted from one person to another. Diseases that are not caused by micro-organisms are generally called non-communicable diseases. People of any age can be affected by this disease. It is possible to avoid incurable diseases by paying attention to prevention rather than treatment.

diabetes specialist Dr. Jyoti Bhattarai says, 'Apart from genetics, junk food, lack of exercise, fat accumulation in the liver, which we call 'fatty liver', is common in many people. Lack of balanced food, sugary drinks seem to increase diabetes. This can lead to problems like kidney failure, leg amputation, heart attack.' Dr. It will be necessary to alert the students from the school level to prevent non-communicable diseases and also provide public awareness to the parents. Bhattarai says. He suggests that non-communicable diseases such as diabetes can be prevented by exercising regularly, eating fiber-rich food, not eating processed food, and eating home-cooked food.

If a non-communicable disease is detected at an early stage and managed at the same time, the complications and premature death caused by it in the future can be avoided. Doctors say that if you adopt a healthy lifestyle in childhood and youth, you can avoid getting non-communicable diseases in adulthood.

Under the Ministry of Health and Population, Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Head of Non-Communicable and Mental Illness Health Branch Dr. Pomavati Thapa says that smoking, drinking, physical inactivity, and processed food are the main causes of non-communicable diseases. He said that the government has introduced the PEN program (Package of Essential Non-Communicable Diseases) in all districts for the prevention of non-communicable diseases. This program was introduced to identify, screen and treat non-communicable diseases at the community level. The government has also started cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination. Similarly, we have introduced the Pain Plus program to prevent complex, chronic, non-communicable diseases in children and adolescents. It has been implemented in six districts,' he said. He said that there is a need for multi-sectoral coordination to prevent and control non-communicable diseases.

Cardiologist Dr. Koju suggests that parents should follow and teach their children to adopt a healthy lifestyle. 'The habit of looking at the mobile phone leads to monotony, which seems to increase the stress level. Eat healthy food like vegetables and fruits. Eat less sugary drinks. Many diseases can be avoided by exercising and staying away from smoking,' says Dr. Koju. He says that parents should focus on sports rather than getting addicted to mobile TV. "The state should advocate for healthy lifestyles in the school curriculum as well as building exercise places," he said.

At a time when the world is suffering due to the increasing outbreak of non-communicable diseases, Nepal has made a multi-sectoral action plan (year 2021-2025) on non-communicable diseases to be systematically prevented and controlled. Nepal has set a target of reducing the mortality due to non-communicable diseases by 25 percent by 2025. In the same way, the Sustainable Development Goals have also taken the goal of reducing deaths due to non-communicable diseases by one third.