World Health Day special: Four killers and how to tackle them

They are deadly but they kill silently. Our sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and intake of fattening food lead to many lifestyle ailments.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | Updated: April 8, 2015 11:56 AM IST

3 min read

They are deadly but they kill silently. Our sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and intake of fattening food lead to many lifestyle ailments. What can we do about it? How do we know if we are suffering from diabtes, obesity, depression or hypertension? How can we prevent against these ailments? On World Health Day (April 7), here’s all you wanted to know about the four deadly lifestyle diseases.

1. Hypertension: Hypertension, also known as high or raised blood pressure, is a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure. The higher the pressure in blood vessels the harder the heart has to work in order to pump blood. If left uncontrolled, hypertension can lead to a heart attack, an enlargement of the heart and eventually heart failure. The pressure in the blood vessels can also cause blood to leak out into the brain. This can cause a stroke. Hypertension can also lead to kidney failure, blindness, rupture of blood vessels and cognitive impairment. (Read More)

2. Depression: Depression is a serious condition. It’s also unfortunately, a common one. The World Health Organization characterizes depression as one of the most disabling disorders in the world, affecting roughly one in five women and one in ten men at some point in their lifetime. (Read more)

3. Obesity: Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Body mass index is a rough guide to measure obesity. It is defined as a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in metres). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese and a person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight. (Read More)

Big-box retailers like Walmart along with full-service and fast-food restaurants are key contributors to the obesity epidemic in the US.

4. Diabetes: According to WHO, Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to increased blood sugar or hyperglycaemia. Over the time, it can cause serious damage to many of the body’s systems. (Read more)