According to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Office, ischemic heart disease, which is considered a lifestyle disease, is the leading cause of death among Filipinos, accounting for 12.7 percent of total. This is followed by cancerous tumors or neoplasms.
As defined by Dr. Lourdes Remedios Bituin, Wellness Doctor in-charge at The Medical City Clark, lifestyle diseases are illnesses brought about by a person’s daily behavior and routine. They are also heavily influenced by a person’s environment, most commonly their occupational environment. Aside from heart disease and cancer, other lifestyle diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, type II diabetes, and stroke.
Lifestyle diseases, Dr. Bituin said, have become more common due to the demands of modern living. Our fast-paced lives compel us to work late hours, sleep less, and overindulge in unhealthy habits such as drinking and smoking to cope with stress.
Dr. Bituin also pointed out that young people are more affected by lifestyle diseases. “Lately we have been encountering patients as young as 25 years old, mostly young professionals,” said the medical expert.
Dr. Bituin and other experts from TMC-Clark further explain how our personal choices affect our health by listing down five of the most common unhealthy lifestyle habits.
Minimal physical activity
A mostly sedentary lifestyle results in a buildup of fat and poor circulation of the blood, leading to hypertension or plaque formation, according to Dr. Bituin. This can eventually develop into diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. People with desk jobs who work irregular hours like call center agents are more prone to this since they spend most of their day sitting in front of a computer, with little to no physical activity.
Stress and fatigue
Chronic stress, constant fatigue, and lack of sleep may lead to complications such as heart palpitations, high blood pressure, chest pains, and hypertension. Stress is also a known contributor to pulmonary diseases, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. It also doesn’t help that stress often leads people into developing harmful coping mechanisms such as over or undereating, said Dr. Bituin.
Unhealthy eating habits
Eating too much or too little can lead to lifestyle diseases. According to Dr. Bituin, food high in salt, fat, and sugar are the most detrimental to one’s health, especially when combined with lack of exercise. This can result in high blood pressure. Not drinking enough water also leads to dehydration, which in the long run can cause damage in your body’s musculoskeletal system.
Excessive drinking and smoking
For some people, these unhealthy habits are correlated to stress, as they tend to drink or smoke to cope with any uncomfortable situation. Meanwhile, others develop an addiction to these unhealthy habits and find them hard to stop. Dr. Bituin stated that our heart, lungs, and liver are the most affected by excessive drinking and smoking. She advised to “keep it in moderation, if unavoidable.”
Poor posture
Excessive sitting and standing especially due to work arrangements create risks in developing osteoarthritis due to the over-expansion of the ligaments and cartilages. According to Dr. Lizbeth Sto. Tomas, a Wellness Doctor of the Internal Medicine at TMC-Clark, “Poor and sudden changes in posture and long periods of sitting down can cause sciatica, which is a symptom for diseases like osteoporosis, varicosity, tendonitis, and synovitis.”
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While lifestyle diseases are harmful and could be fatal, there are many ways that these could be avoided.
“The majority of sicknesses that you endure today are diseases of lifestyle, not of destiny. But that’s good news, because it means they are preventable and treatable,” says Dr. Jose Ranilo Paule, head of Family Medicine at TMC-Clark.
To help prevent the onset of lifestyle diseases or to treat them while its early, Dr. Bituin recommends getting a complete full body check-up at least annually.
The Medical City Clark offers an Executive Check-up Program which is designed to be tailor-fit for each person—identifying one’s specific health concerns while being cost-efficient by addressing a person’s overall wellness, thus minimizing health risks and expenses. Their packages can be personalized based on age and gender; these can include evaluation and consultation ranging from physical examination to laboratory tests, as well as nutrition and diet consultations.
For more information, call (045) 300-8888 or 0916-4488046.