Health issues is a generalized term that we often hear from the people who are suffering, or people recovered. Being healthy is the state of both physical and mental well-being. It is also the state of the capability of a person to recover. Multiple health issues are a big challenge in today’s world. Among them, the most common one is the disease. The most health issues we find globally are non-communicable diseases which include cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic lung diseases. Communicable diseases caused by both bacterial and viral include TB, HIV/AIDS, malaria resulting in many deaths. Other issues include malnutrition, bodily injuries, choice of lifestyle and many more.
The most common health issues globally are:
Physical Activity and Nutrition
Nutrition is a key ingredient for the body to function. The nutritious food with balance diet containing required proteins for building muscles, carbs for the energy, fat for the energy and water for the body fluid maintenance are the important source of energy for the body. Having a diet with ample calories balancing the nutrient constituents for the body is the perfect nutritious food. Balance food intake means having food intake based on the recommended number of servings from each group every day. Moderate eating is having food intake in little but nothing in excess which provides all the nutrients in small quantities. A variety of intake of food even provides good nutrition.
Dietary factors are associated with 5 out of 10 leading causes of death like coronary heart diseases, cancers, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis. Globally we are facing an epidemic of overweight and obesity in all ages from children to adults. Along with food intake, it is a necessity to have good physical fitness for the long run of life.
Research states staying fit helps in preventing and delaying certain diseases like heart diseases, cancer, diabetes. Exercising also improves one’s mood and relieves depression. Exercising also helps and delaying the age effect.
Having a good healthy diet, food and being fit physically as a result cannot be understated. The nutrition and physical together helps in
- Achieving and maintain the correct bodyweight
- Reduces the risks of heart, stroke
- Reduces the cancer risks
- Helps in strengthening muscles, joints, bones
- Improves energy and mood levels
- Major is the reduction in the state of being obese
Children and adolescents need the most nutritious food for the body to grow in a healthy manner. They must exercise playing along for the muscle, bone and body development. Children who are obese are at the risk of developing heart risks, diabetes, and other chronic health issues. Adults and pregnant women need good nutritious food to stay healthy. The infants to grow healthy with no issues, the lactating mother needs the best food. Postpartum depression can be reduced
Overweight and Obesity
These terms relate to being extra weight than normal or healthy depending on the height. This overweight may be due to muscular growth, bone weight or sometimes due to water content in the body. In general, obese is the state where the body has high accumulated fat. The lack of physical strain, exercise and moments lead to this condition. Following portions of food with calorie count and physical exercises helps to overcome overweight and obesity. Obesity is best defined by BMI. An adult having a BMI of 25-29.9 is overweight and more than 30 BMI the person is obese and more than 40 BMI the human is extremely obese.
Causes of obesity: Lack of physical exercise is the major cause. High amounts of fat and junk food intake, overeating, frequency of food intake, medical effects, psychological factors, a diet rich in simple carbohydrates and many more are the causes of obesity. Hypothyroidism, PCOS, insulin resistance, Cushing’s syndrome also a major part of being obese.
Health risks with obesity: Being obese is not just fat or cosmetic growth but it’s fatal to health with many drastic conditions. Insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, stroke, heart attack, cancer, congestive heart failure, gout, gouty arthritis, gall stones, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis these are the major risks related with obesity.
Management of obesity: A goal for healthier weight should be the motto but not the goal of ideal weight. Obesity is not a short-term fix, but it should be a long-term commitment to reduce weight healthily. The average weight of a 5-10% reduction in the total body weight is a good result which benefits the body functions and lowering risks. Speaking to GP and working out doing physical exercises, following a balanced diet can help in overcoming the state of obesity.
Substance abuse
Substance abuse also known as drug abuse is a pattern drug usage where the user intakes the
drugs or alcohol too much which is not legal, harming one’s health. It is not an addiction, but they can quit it. This can also be called as the substance-related disorder. These substance abuse drugs include the usage of alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, opioids and barbiturates. The usage is either a habit which is addiction or a genetic disposition. These are a recurrent drug which is of high-risk causing harm to the health, social and psychological problems risking their lives. Alcohol consumption, drug abuse, prescription drugs induce symptomatology showing mental instability. This state is seen in both cases of substance-induced intoxicated and withdrawal state. Psychic disorders persist, long after detoxification, like psychosis, depression. Benzodiazepines are the drugs that show prolonged withdrawal effects even after years. Alcohol, benzodiazepine, barbiturate, are all fatal. The use of hallucinogens triggers psychotic and delusional phenomena even after stopping usage. Cannabis causes, dysthymia. Regular use of cannabis leads to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Anxiety and psychological disorders are the most common effects leading to brain changes, caused by theses substance abuse.
Many evidence-based interventions have emerged like motivational interviewing, exposure therapy, community reinforcement approaches, behavioral marital therapy, contingency management based on the behavioral literature and psychology by the clinical trials. Cognitive-behavioral therapy and family therapy are preferred for children and adolescents. CBT helps in developing social skills, developing and regulating emotional kills and other intrapersonal skills. Brief school interventions are suggested for adolescents, alcohol and cannabis use and abuse. Motivational interviewing is effective for the treatment of adolescents. Alcoholics are significantly impaired due to the neurotoxic effects on the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. Social skills training is suggested along with inpatient treatment for the alcohol-dependent people for the better management of social life.
HIV/AIDS
This is one of the most serious public health challenges the world is facing. The new HIV infections can be stopped by preventions and having aided in HIV treatment. Globally there are around 37.9 million people suffering from HIV or AIDS. Among these, 1.7 million are children below 15years and the rest are the adults. 1.7 million people are infected newly with HIV and there are chances where people might not know that they are infected with HIV. Of the new, 1.6million are 15 years and above and 160,000 are below 14 years of age.
HIV testing is the best gateway to prevention, care, and treatment with supporting services. Around 23.3 million people with HIV were accessing Antiretroviral therapy in 2018. Having HIV treatment is a key aspect of the reduction of global AIDS patients. HIV patients who are aware of this are suggested to take the ART prescribed daily to lessen the viral load, have a better life. Having HIV Continuum helps HIV patients in lowering and suppressing viral content. UNAIDS has set the target as 90% of people with HIV will know the HIV status, 90% will know ART, and 90% ART receiving will have viral suppression.
The deaths caused by AIDS has been reduced to 55% since 2004. Globally, 770,000 people died of HIV in 2018. Despite the advancements of science, there are still a few places where the preventive measures and medication is not available. The global efforts are mounted to address, epidemic.
Mental Health and well-being
Being mental stable is as important as being healthy. Mental instability may be stated as a group of diseases showing the impact on the mental activity of a person like perceptions, thoughts, behavior, and mood. Mental stability is a must to maintain social, personal relations and others. People having great determinations and strong can manage the mental illness, stress with medications and health care providers. There are much common mental health illnesses and issues like the Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Bipolar disorder, Behavioural and emotional disorders in children, Obsessive compulsion disorder, paranoia, Eating disorders, Dissociation, and dissociative disorders, psychosis, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Schizophrenia and many more. The person facing mental instability must seek the doctor’s help with the medication, counseling sometimes both in managing the most important mental stability.
1 in 7 people globally is facing the problem of mental instability. This means around 1 billion people are facing according to a survey in 2017. The most were with the case of people with anxiety disorder i.e. around 4% of the world population.
Seeking help from psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors face similar issues as general people like depression, substance abuse, and marital disharmony. US, Colombia, Netherlands, and Ukraine stand in row tending to have the most mental disorders globally. The mental illness is generally caused due to genetic and environmental factors. Inherited traits wherein people whose blood relatives have the metal problem, exposure to environmental stressors, inflammatory conditions, toxins, alcohol, drugs during pregnancy can be linked to mental ill-health. Neurotransmitters and neural network failure or impairment lead to depression and emotional disorders. External factors like alcohol intake, childhood abuse, any health condition stress, traumatic experiences, etc. might lead to mental instability. It is suggested to visit and seek the help of a heal care provider for a better life.
Tobacco
Tobacco though is a small term but has been the largest preventable cause of death and disease globally. Due to tobacco-related illnesses, nearly 480,000 Americans die. It is estimated that 16 million Americans suffer at least 1 disease by tobacco. It costs more than $300 billion each year for smoking-related illnesses. Usage of tobacco results in many types of cancers like mouth, esophagus, tracheas, larynx, bronchus, lung, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, cervix, ureter, bladder and colorectal. There are many other effects like heart stroke, reproductive issues, lung diseases, and many others. The effects of tobacco usage affect not only the user but even passive inhalers. The passive inhalers are exposed to have asthma, respiratory and ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome.
The youth are most attracted to the use of tobacco. Though the age is limited to 21 years for the use, the youth below the prescribed age are getting addicted. There are flavors in the cigars which tend to the cause of many side effects. There are other products also available other than tobacco are flavors included for cigars, hookah, cigarillos, e-cigarettes. There is a rise in the usage of tobacco from 1.9 to 2.3 million according to the 2002-2012 survey.
This is the most controllable and preventable health issue where the person has to be determined to prohibit the usage. Apart they can seek the help of a general physician to control and stop using.
Injury and Violence
This is one of the oldest health issues the world is facing for long. This is a threat to the health of every individual facing this globally. 9% makes global mortality, i.e. more than 5 million deaths per year. 8 of 15 deaths caused are injury-related like due to road accidents, suicides, homicides, burns, drowning, war injuries, falls and poisoning. Though the impact of the person is on the individual it also has its immediate health impact on the family members, friends, co-workers, employees, and communities. Witnessing or being a victim is like a long-life impact on one’s health and mental status. Americans age 1-44 years result in injuries that result in the cause of deaths in most cases and disabilities regardless of age, sex, race, and status. Every year more than 29 million people suffer injuries, of which 180,000 people die each year from injuries and nearly 51,000 results in violent deaths. Violence injuries and unintentional injuries may be caused by many events, like accidents, assault and occur anywhere. The after impact is severe causing painful, serious, emotional effects like hospitalization, brain injury, disability, mental illness, premature death. Public health calamities, camps, injuries, violence, knowledge of policies and programs are increasing in few countries. Many government and other organizations are involved in the prevention of violence and injuries.
Immunization
A process where a person is made immune or resistant to disease by administering an external vaccine. This process helps in developing the immune system protecting the subsequent infection or disease. This process has proven the ability to controlling the most infectious diseases. This is one of the best methods as part of a prevention step and cost-effective with proved strategies in reaching the populations. This can reach the target groups, have effective delivery to the population. Getting immunized is a better way of eradicating the disease and resulting in healthier and hospital free life from the diseases.
Access to Healthcare
Promoting and maintaining health, managing diseases, reducing the disabilities and premature death and attaining the best health services is the most important requirement. If a patient cannot access health care, it is not possible to receive the best clinicians and wellness. To obtain health service access, insurance coverage, health services, and timely care are important sources. There are many barriers to gain healthcare like high cost, limited insurance coverage, lack of available services. If the services are limited there are consequences even like the delay in treatment, no preventive measure, financial constraints, preventable hospitalization, health needs that cannot be fulfilled. These accesses often differ with the race, status, ethnicity, age factors, sex, disability status, residential locations even. Future efforts are to be made on deploying the workforce shortages for better extension of health care services to everyone for the best improvisation of health services.
Changing Environment
This is one of the most hazardous effects of being predominant these days caused by humans. Hazardous chemicals, deforestation, urbanization, utilization of natural resources are the most predominant causes resulting in climate change, hurricanes, ozone depletion, changes in the ecosystem because of change in biodiversity, ecological imbalance, changes in hydrological usage like freshwaters and many more. All these environmental factors lead to the effects on the human along with other ecological animal life. The WHO has estimated about 13million deaths occur due to environmental factors. 2.4% of diarrhea, 6% of malaria was due to climate change. Dengue fever is one of the proven predominant cases. The changing environment results in the influence of human behavior. The global climate change aspects and its resultant health hazards are now taking a turn to set right acknowledging the reality for the current, future of the world. The main risks with the changing climate are heat waves, and extreme conditions, effects on food yields, effects on water bodies, change in patterns of the infectious diseases, impairment if the functioning of the ecosystem, loss of liveliness. Climate change can result in new diseases, with new strains of viruses and other microbes. These may alter the incidence, range, and seasonality of many health issues. Hence adaptive issues must be taken to improve and lessen the health effects. The best preventive measure is to stop the processes affecting climate change. This requires broad insight and bold actions to stop climate change. Health care sectors from its side must take initiative in lessening greenhouse gas emissions.
Unknown Vs. Known diseases
The rise in global temperatures has its worst effects. Malaria, Zika virus, dengue virus, chikungunya, West Nile virus and many more. The mosquito along with the crop-destroying pests are thriving in this warming world. The rise in disease is both familiar as well unknown. New strains of influenza to age old-bubonic plague, are emerging and as well re-emerging as a frontline to the health workers. Before its pandemic, we see to cut them down. Most of the 80% of deaths are noted in low and middle-income countries. Lifestyle changes and diet changes result in many unknown risk factors. Officials must build up the communities for better health of the society.
Refugees and migrants
There are about 1 million people migrating than ever before. These migrants and other refugees face a distinct challenge in the case of health care, cultural differences, language, and many other differences. There are many diversifications in case migrants facing the exposure to toxic pesticides to the refugees who get traumatized at the war places. Different aspects like migration, wars, famine drive, resulting in a moment of people from one to other resulting in the carrier of diseases too. People face disorders like distress, anxiety, depression, somatization, and PTSD. The access to health is a prime source and of paramount importance based on health rights and set right with the health equalities.
