‘NCDs cause for concern’
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Health experts say that non-communicable diseases are the main causes for the increasing number of deaths in the country.
The increase in non-communicable diseases (NSD) in recent years is due to changes in environmental factors that have had adverse effects on individuals.
If the environmental change is strong and sudden and affects individuals during the developmental phase, it results in grave consequences like deaths, birth defects, and low birth weight, they said. If the change is subtler, it may result in disease later in life.
According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) cardiovascular diseases account for the death of 17 million people annually, followed by cancer (7.6 million), respiratory diseases (4.2 million), and diabetes (1.3 million).
The four common risk factors for acquiring these diseases are tobacco use, physical inactivity, alcohol and poor diet.
Stronger anti-tobacco controls and promoting healthier diets, physical activities and reducing harmful use of alcohol along with improving people’s access to essential healthcare can prevent the rise of NCD deaths, health officials said.
With the spiralling health costs, measures to control NCDs is being implemented like raising taxes on tobacco, banning tobacco advertising and legislating laws to curb smoking in public places.
Other measures include reducing levels of salt in food, stopping inappropriate marketing of unhealthy foods.
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