Chronic Diseases

Here's an extract from the World Health Organisation website:

• Chronic diseases are now the major cause of death and disability worldwide. Noncommunicable conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes, obesity, cancer and respiratory diseases, now account for 59% of the 57 million deaths annually and 46% of the global burden of disease.


• A relatively few risk factors – high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and alcohol – cause the majority of the chronic disease burden.


• A change in dietary habits, physical activity and tobacco control, have a major impact in reducing the rates of these chronic diseases, often in a relatively short time.


• Heart attacks and strokes kill about 12 million people every year; another 3.9 million die from hypertensive and other heart conditions.


• More than one billion adults worldwide are overweight; at least 300 million of them are clinically obese.


• About 75% of CVD can be attributed to the majority risks: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, low fruit and vegetable intake, inactive lifestyle and tobacco.


• Sustained behavioural interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing population risk factors.

Nutritional education can change all that!