Our way of living is killing us gradually – December 11, 2008
Many South Africans lead sedentary lifestyles, have poor and unhealthy diets and are overweight or obese, leading to all kinds of preventable but fatal conditions.
The latest South African Health Review warns that South Africans, especially poor people in urban areas, are at high risk of chronic non-communicable diseases linked to preventable risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, smoking and drinking. These factors lead to various chronic disease processes – heart attacks, tobacco- and nutrition-induced cancers and obstructive lung diseases – that culminate in high death rates.
A South African study conducted in 2000 identified heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes as causing 65 000 deaths per year, suggesting that the prevention of these diseases should receive priority attention.
The authors of the review also expressed concern that these high-risk patients were not being identified at primary healthcare level. “Routine screening for risk factors in all individuals in the health services is poor,” they wrote. In 2003, national data showed that only 18% of men and 22% of women had controlled hypertension.
In 2000, the prevalence of diabetes among adults older than 30 was estimated to be about 5,5%. A study to identify environmental risk factors for noncommunicable diseases in urban townships showed that there was a shortage of healthy, low-fat food and fresh fruit and vegetables. Another study reported that although many black women were overweight or obese, few perceived themselves as such.
“The belief that thinness is associated with personal problems and sickness, especially HIV/Aids, seems to be a barrier to maintaining normal body weight in some individuals,” it said. Young people were found to have bad habits.
A national survey found that youngsters frequently consumed fast foods (38,8%), cakes and biscuits (47,4%), cooldrinks and sweets (52%) at least four days a week. The review also found that the nutritional status of South Africans had deteriorated since 1994.
Severe vitamin A deficiency was recorded in about 15% of children – despite the legislated fortification of bread, flour and maize meal and the national high-dose vitamin A supplementation programme. High levels of zinc deficiency were also recorded.
The authors cited an example from Finland – which had the highest death rate from cardiovascular disease due to heavy smoking, high-fat diet and low vegetable intake – where a community-based intervention reduced cancer and heart disease mortality by at least 56%. The intervention led to policies banning tobacco advertising and the introduction of low-fat and vegetableoil products
JAKARTA, 9 December 2008 (IRIN) – Stroke is the leading cause of death among adults in Indonesia, according to a Health Ministry survey.
The Basic Health Research also revealed that non-communicable diseases have replaced infectious diseases as the leading cause of death in all age groups.
Dengue haemorrhagic fever is the main cause of death among children between five and 15 in urban areas, at 30.4 percent, while diarrhoea is the greatest killer among the same age group in rural areas, at 11.3 percent.
The prevalence of dengue is 0.6 percent nationally but in some provinces it is higher: 2.5 percent in East Nusa Tenggara, 2 percent in West Papua, 1.2 percent in Bengkulu and 1.2 percent in Jakarta.
THE National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 2005-06 provides information on fertility, family planning, health, nutrition, health care, HIV/AIDS and women’s empowerment. This survey is the third in the series. The earlier two were conducted in 1992-93 and 1998-99. These were coordinated by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW). The preliminary findings of the National Family Health Survey 2005-06 were released in the form of fact sheets by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Based on these fact sheets, the present study focused on the current status of health in Punjab vis-a-vis the change in health parameters in the State since NFHS 1. An attempt has also been made to highlight the key health issues in the state of Punjab.
On the whole, 3169 households from 65 rural and 34 urban primary sampling units (PSUs) were selected for NFHS 3 in Punjab and interviews were conducted in 2968 households with a response rate of 98 per cent. It covered 3681 women and 1329 men in the age of 15-49 years. Unmarried women and men were covered for the first time. The survey was conducted through three types of questionnaires, that is, for Household, Women and Men.