Not so many years ago, people were subject to a variety of diseases over which they had little or no control. In the early part of the twentieth century, infectious diseases caused by organisms were the leading causes of death in the United States.

Modern public health methods and modern drugs such as antibiotics were not available. In 1918, millions of people around the world died from influenza, the cause of which was unknown at the time.

Today, the leading cause of illness and death are not due to infections, but to "lifestyle diseases." These diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, result from people's behavior, and the ways in which they choose to live.

The idea that lifestyle is a major cause of disease and death in modern societies is not new. A generation ago, Lewis Thomas (1978), an eminent physician and author, observed that our lifestyles were killing us.

There is no bacterium that causes heart disease. Heart disease results from today's lifestyles, which include overeating, cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, high levels of stress, and high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Cancer is associated with both nutritional and human-activity environmental factors. Improper nutrition, smoking cigarettes, and exposure to hazardous substances in the environment initiate biological changes that can result in cancer. An unhealthy lifestyle is also at the root of suicide and homicide (drugs, alcohol, and stress), accidents (alcohol use and stress), and cirrhosis of the liver (alcohol abuse).

Source From: Health and Wellness (Edlin, Brown, (2002)

© June 2005 Afro Staff Research