RISK FACTORS
A Risk Factor is a health behavior that has been associated with a particular disease.
Many people die prematurely due to "Modifiable Risk Factors" due to not taking action to make necessary lifestyle changes.
Chronic diseases have increased dramatically because of physical inactivity. In the United States obesity has doubled since 1980, Type 2 diabetes has increased nine-fold since 1958, and heart disease remains the number one cause of death.
Sedentary Death Syndrome: According to Frank Booth a prominent exercise scientist at the University of Missouri, a sedentary lifestyle can lead to other health problems and premature death. He coined the term Sedentary Death Syndrome and has highlighted over thirty health problems that are caused or worsened by a sedentary lifestyle. According to Dr. Booth, “Physical inactivity, which can start during childhood, can lead to a wide range of diseases that coupled with poor diet, kill a quarter million people every year.” SeDS is a national health crisis that needs to be recognized by lawmakers, the medical community and the public. It can be remedied by promoting exercise through a variety of straight forward mechanisms, as well as by increasing funding for research that examines the underlying link between physical inactivity and disease.
Sedentary Death Syndrome, or “SeDS,” is the term developed by more than 200 of the nation’s leading physiologists to diagnose the growing epidemic of physical inactivity and its relationship to chronic, preventable diseases. It is estimated that 60 percent of all Americans are currently at risk for SeDS, a condition that leads to premature disability or death. Approximately 2.5 million Americans will die prematurely in the next ten years due to SeDS, a number greater than all alcohol, guns, motor vehicles, illicit drug use and sexual behavior related deaths combined. These researchers call SeDS the second largest threat to public health.
All Americans may incur a severe decline in their health due to consistent physical inactivity. Thirty-five known conditions are exacerbated by physical inactivity; they include: arthritis pain, arrhythmias, breast cancer, colon cancer, congestive heart failure, depression, gallstone disease, heart attack, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis, peripheral vascular disease, respiratory problems, Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and stroke.
Information about Sedentary Death Syndrome referenced from: SEDENTARY DEATH SYNDROME IS WHAT RESEARCHERS NOW CALL AMERICA’S SECOND LARGEST THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH Frank Booth, Ph.D., FACSM. Click link below for full article.
http://hac.missouri.edu/RID/PressRelease.pdf
The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has indicated that regular physical activity reduces people's risk for heart attacks, certain cancers, diabetes, and high blood pressure, and may reduce their risk for stroke.
http://www.cdc.gov/
Some Examples of Behaviors or Health Conditions that are Red Flags or Risk Factors that can lead to a number of health problems:
1. Cigarette Smoking - Undeniable research or empirical evidence has demonstrated or
identified cigarette smoking as a major risk factor for Coronary Artery Disease. It also
has a linear relationship that may exist between the risk for cardiovascular disease and the
volume of cigarette smoking and number of years person smoked. Cigarette smoking has
also been shown to lower or deplete "high density lipoprotein" which can cause the
acceleration or of the atherosclerotic process. Cigarette smoking is the most significant
preventable cause of premature death in the United States. It accounts for nearly 440,000
of the more than 2.4 million annual deaths. Cigarette smokers have a higher risk of
developing several chronic disorders. These include fatty buildups in arteries, several types
of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (lung problems). Atherosclerosis
(buildup of fatty substances in the arteries) is a chief contributor to the high number of
deaths from smoking. Many studies detail the evidence that cigarette smoking is a major
cause of coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. Cigarette smoking is a
modifiable risk factor in that an individual can eliminate this risk factor by quitting smoking.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4545
2. Sedentary Life Style - Physical inactivity or a sedentary lifestyle is acknowledged as a
leading contributing factor to morbity (premature death) and mortality. Many studies have
shown a relationship between a sedentary lifestyle or low fitness to a greater risk for
Coronary Artery Disease. Again this is another risk factor that is "Modifiable." You can
change this by getting off the couch and off your rear-end and getting some exercise for at
least 35 minutes 3-4 times per week.
3. Hypercholesterolemia - Epidemological research/studies have shown a strong
relationship high levels of total cholesterol, high LDL cholesterol, and low HDL cholesterol
with a higher rate of coronary artery disease in both men and women. People who have a
total serum cholesterol of > 200 mg/dL or an HDL cholesterol of < 35 mg/dL and / or an
LDL > 130 mg/dL have been suggested to be at greater risk for coronary artery disease.
This is a risk factor that has been shown to be modifiable through Excercise and Nutrition.
4. OBESITY -
Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. About 97 million adults are
overweight with 30 % of these individuals meeting the criteria for obesity. This is according
to the 1999-2000 National Haynes Survey. In addition to placing too much stress on the
body's joints and bone structure, obesity overloads the body's systems in general creating
an undue stress on the body. Obesity is also associated with numerous other risk factors
mentioned such as high blood pressure, high total cholesterol, and many others risk factors.
Although in some individuals there may be genetic components or hereditary factors that
predispose them to greater risks for obesity such as low metabolic rates and the sort, there
are still modifiable behaviors that can help to prevent obesity and reduce your risk for it
such as a healthy balanced diet and physical activity/exercise. You can make the effort to
control those factors in the environment which exacerbate obesity or cause it.
http://www.obesityinamerica.org/
According to the Associated Press:
Monday, July 27, 2009 Nearly 10 percent of health spending for obesity
Obesity's not just dangerous, it's expensive. New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who's normal weight.
Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday by the journal Health Affairs.
The higher expense reflects the costs of treating diabetes, heart disease and other ailments far more common for the overweight, concluded the study by government scientists and the nonprofit research group RTI International.
RTI health economist Eric Finkelstein offers a blunt message for lawmakers trying to revamp the health care system: "Unless you address obesity, you're never going to address rising health care costs."
Obesity-related conditions now account for 9.1 percent of all medical spending, up from 6.5 percent in 1998, the study concluded.
Health economists have long warned that obesity is a driving force behind the rise in health spending. For example, diabetes costs the nation $190 billion a year to treat, and excess weight is the single biggest risk factor for developing diabetes. Moreover, obese diabetics are the hardest to treat, with higher rates of foot ulcers and amputations, among other things.
The new study's look at per-capita spending may offer a shock to the wallets of people who haven't yet heeded straight health warnings.
"Health care costs are dramatically higher for people who are obese and it doesn't have to be that way," said Jeff Levi of the nonprofit Trust for America's Health, who wasn't involved in the new research.
"We have ways of changing behavior and changing those health outcomes so that we don't have to deal with the medical consequences of obesity," added Levi, who advocates community-based programs that promote physical activity and better nutrition.
About a third of adult Americans are obese, and the obesity rate rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, the years covered by Monday's study.
Prescription drugs for obesity-related illnesses account for much of the rise in spending. Medicare spends about $600 more per year on prescriptions for an obese beneficiary than a normal-weight one, the study found.
5. STRESS, - Emotional and mental stress is dealt with differently by every individual. Too
much stress can place added work on the heart and the body. Research has proven
that there is a strong relationship between stress levels, blood pressure, wellness, and
heart disease. This is also a modifiable risk factor for disease that can be minimized
through learning how to manage stress in a healthy and efficient manner.
6. Late Adult-Onset Diabetes Type II - Research has shown that through exercise and
maintaining a balanced diet diabetes type II that is typically associated with being
overweight or obesity can be prevented and at times the symptoms reversed through
exercise. Exercise increases insulin sensitivity and also helps the muscles receive
glycogen better.
* These Risk Factors are some examples of risks to your health that can be modifiable or
prevented through a lifestyle change. Cigarette and tobacco smoke, high blood
cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes are the six major
independent risk factors for coronary heart disease that you can modify or control.
Cigarette smoking is so widespread and significant as a risk factor that the
Surgeon General has called it "the leading preventable cause of disease and
deaths in the United States."
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4545
You do not need a fancy health club or Gym membership and or expensive equipment to make a change in your life to lead a healthy and active lifestyle that prevents disease and gives you numerous benefits
Do you want to make positive healthy life style changes and live longer? Not sure how or where to begin in regard to exercising? Give me a call or e-mail me and ask about a free initial consultation to discuss exercise programs.
This page will be updated with information based on the available research as it becomes available.
