In celebration of World Health Day on April 7th, Health24, sponsored by Fedhealth, recently conducted a comprehensive survey into the health of everyday South Africans. Overall South Africans believe that they are in good health; they also believe that they have a definite understanding of what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Turns out … we don’t!
South Africa is on its way to overtaking America as the world’s fattest nation. Also, South African’s between the ages of 30 and 70 have almost double the risk of dying from non-communicable diseases (i.e. cancer, diabetes, heart disease) as their peers living in the UK. According to Dr Krisela Steyn, Director of the Council for Chronic Diseases of the Lifestyle Research Unit, about 6 million South Africans have hypertension, 5 million have high blood pressure and one and a half million are diagnosed with diabetes. Shocking statistics, right?
Ok, so here’s some more … A survey conducted by pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline in 2010 indicates that 61% of the population is overweight, obese or morbidly obese! Yes, 25% of our teens and 17% of kids younger than 9 years are classed as overweight or obese. 49% of South Africans claim to do no exercise, and 71% have never attempted to cut down on their food intake. Can you believe that only 47% of South Africans believe that exercise and fitness is crucial for good health?!
The consequence of this ignorance opens a Pandora’s Box of fatal diseases. Most of these chronic diseases are preventable, as their primary cause is due to lifestyle choices. So, choose life by committing to a few healthy living tips:
As World Health Day comes around it’s the perfect opportunity to make some changes. Healthy living is not a flash-in-the-pan fad; it’s about making easy-to-manage healthy choices in your day-to-day living. So, choose to make today healthier than yesterday and pave the way for healthy living tomorrow.
Source: mg.co.za, theeverygirl.com, www.health24.com, www.heraldlive.co.za, www.mrc.ac.za, www.dontparty.co.za, www.health-e.org.za, africacheck.org, www.webmd.com, www.iol.co.za, www.jamieoliver.com, www.justlanded.com, iabsa.net
DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are experiencing symptoms or need health advice, please consult a healthcare professional.