Why humans get chronic diseases I:
Chronic diseases are different from ordinary infectious diseases, as they are caused by a combination of multiple factors over a long period, rather than simple biological pathogens. These factors include social factors, environmental factors, personal lifestyle and behavior habits, as well as biological genetic factors.
Personal lifestyle and behavior habits are closely related to the occurrence and development of chronic diseases. For example, unhealthy eating habits, such as consuming high-fat and high-calorie foods, low-fiber foods, leading to nutritional imbalance and obesity; Smoking, drinking alcohol, eating moldy food, drug abuse, and liking salty foods are all unhealthy habits; Sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical exercise; Mental stress and poor coping ability, as well as introverted personality and poor psychological adaptation ability, are all related to chronic diseases.
Unreasonable diet and unbalanced nutrition, high salt, low potassium, and low calcium diets are closely related to hypertension. High salt diet is an important risk factor for hypertension, while low potassium and low calcium diets can exacerbate the adverse effects of sodium on blood pressure. Hypertension is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, so high salt diet is also an indirect risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Salt and gastric cancer are related, which may promote cancer.
High fat, high cholesterol, and low fiber diets are risk factors for various chronic diseases. This type of eating habit can increase the incidence of gastric cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, and prostate cancer. High fat and high cholesterol diets cause elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. These are important risk factors for atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and ischemic stroke. Dietary fiber is a polysaccharide substance that cannot be digested by the human body and mainly exists in vegetables, fruits, and other foods. The important physiological function of dietary fiber is to promote bowel movements, prevent constipation, eliminate harmful substances, lower cholesterol levels, affect gut flora, and prevent colon cancer.
Foods with long-term deficiencies in essential trace elements (such as selenium) and vitamin C are risk factors for gastric cancer and esophageal cancer. Aflatoxin in moldy food has been confirmed as a carcinogen. Preserved and smoked foods contain amine compounds, which are also strong carcinogens, causing various malignancies, including liver cancer and esophageal cancer.
Overweight and obesity are generally measured by BMI, which is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A BMI of 24-26 is considered overweight, and greater than 26 is considered obese. Waist circumference is measured in centimeters and divided by the square of height. A waist circumference of greater than or equal to 0.9 for men or greater than or equal to 0.85 for women is considered abdominal obesity or central obesity. Obesity is a risk factor for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and coronary heart disease. Being overweight increases the risk of developing hypertension by 2-6 times, and obesity increases the risk of developing hypertension by 6 times.
Men with a BMI greater than 24 or women with a BMI greater than 26 have a 23.2% to 18.3% higher risk of developing diabetes, and non-overweight men and women have a 4.08% and 3.66% lower risk, respectively. Physical activity reduction is an important cause of overweight and obesity, as well as a cause of various chronic diseases. Regular physical exercise has many benefits for health, such as at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day, which can reduce the risk of developing heart disease and colon cancer by 50%.
It can also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes) by 50%, women’s osteoporosis by 50%, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as the risk of malignant tumors.