NAME: MTANA KIRIT JUMA

SEMESTER: SUMMER 2010

ID NO: 627384

COURSE: NSC 2205

LECTURER: MESHACK OBONYO

TASK: LIFESTYLE DISEASES

INTRODUCTION

Lifestyle diseases have become predominant over the last century, what started as
a phenomenon in the western countries has now spread to most African countries
as the diseases are one of the major killers.

A lifestyle disease is a illness that one is not born with but comes from indulgence
in risk factors such as smoking, drink driving, lack of frequent exercise, poor diet
etc. ( definition adapted from wiki-answers.com)

Examples of lifestyle diseases include; Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, liver cirrhosis,

arteriosclerosis’, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the various forms of
cancer, obesity and many others.

• ALZHEIMERS DISEASE

This is a form of brain disease where damage to the cells of the brain
occurs. It lasts about seven years although good nutrition may slow its
progress. A person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease undergoes loss of
memory and in most cases it affects the elderly people.

HOW TO MANAGE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

i. Create a cool surrounding for the person suffering from the disease to
avoid any disturbances.

ii. Keep noise levels at low levels.

iii. Provide good ventilation for the person during the day.

iv. Make sure the person takes low amounts of caffeine.

v. Provide opportunity for exercise whenever possible.

vi. Use memory aids to help the patient regain some of their memory.

(Available at, http:// www.alz.org/.- Alzheimer’s Association

Website)
STROKE

A disease that occurs due to low levels or lack of oxygen supply to

the brain that may lead to paralysis which may be curable or not.

Some of the symptoms of stroke include the following,

i. The person has slurred speech and experiences sudden

difficulty while speaking.

ii. Numbness or weakness experienced on the arm and face.

iii. Sudden difficulty with walking, balance or co-ordination.

iv. Sudden confusion coupled with problems of memory or

perception.

(Adapted from Learning to recognise and manage stroke

symptoms could save a Life by Sherry LaBonte, July 20,
2007)

Stroke is caused by the following factors,

i. Advanced age in a person

ii. Build of high blood pressure in a person

iii. Previous attacks of poor circulation

iv. Cigarette smoking

v. Various disorders of the heart

vi. Embolism

vii. Inherent factors- family history of strokes

viii. Use of birth control pills by women

ix. Diabetes Mellitus can predispose someone to stroke.

x. Lack of exercise- it acts as a predisposing factor to high

blood pressure, poor circulation and even disorders of
the heart.

xi. Being overweight and

 xii. High levels of cholesterol in the body

(Adapted from http:// www: Natural Health

Perspective.com)

Stroke can be managed by frequent medical examination especially people who are
advanced in age. Other ways of managing stroke include the following,

1) Eating of a healthy diet which is low in saturated fats and rich in whole grains
to prevent accumulation of fats.

2) Exercising regularly and following the doctor’s recommendations on exercise.

3) Losing of weight if someone is overweight or obese.

4) Drinking of alcohol in moderation or avoiding it if one can.

5) Managing of blood sugar if someone has Diabetes

(Adapted from Lifestyle changes to manage Stroke by Ricker Polsdofer,

MD at www.med.nyu.edu/strokecenter/treatment/lifestyle/html.

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

This is a disease of the circulatory system which is characterised by slowly

progressing and irreversible obstruction of the airway.

It is manifested through the following symptoms,

1) Problems in breathing while one is exercising

2) Difficulty in breathing or breathing out deeply, long cough which may result
from chronic bronchitis or asthma.

Cigarette smoking and air pollution make this disease worse.

ARTERIOSCELEROSIS

It is a genetic term for several diseases in which the arterial wall becomes thick
and loses its elasticity (according to www.natural health perspective.com.) It is the
most common and serious vascular disease.
The major cause of arteriosclerosis’ is plaques which are deposited in the walls of
the arteries, chest pain (angina pectoris), heart attacks and other circulation
disorders.

Yellow plaques of cholesterol, fats and other remains are deposited in the walls of
both the large and medium sized arteries and the disease is usually caused by the
following factors;

1) getting old

2) Being obese

3) High blood pressure

4) Diabetes

In general it can be managed in the following ways

 Eating of a low fat diet. Food high in animal fat from red meat like beef and
pork make plaque build up along the arterial walls hence interfering with
circulation.

 Maintenance of a healthy body weight. This can be achieved through regular

exercise and drinking eight glasses of water to control appetite and keep the
body hydrated.

 Avoid usage of tobacco products. Smoking tobacco in cigars interferes with

healthy blood flow by interfering with circulation in making arteries and veins
narrow. Nicotine is also a danger to the body’s pulmonary and cardiac
functions.

 Learning to manage stress.

CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE/LIVER CIRRHOSIS

This is any group of liver diseases and are characterised by

 Jaundice

 Loss of appetite

 Liver enlargement

 Fluid accumulation
  Impaired consciousness

Most liver diseases can be managed by limiting the amount of alcohol one
takes as too much of it leads to overworking of the liver resulting in
accumulation.

CONCLUSION

Lifestyle diseases are largely a lifestyle issue as the name suggests. The kind of
lifestyle one lives contributes majorly to the disease one gets. Activities which can
be avoided such as smoking need to be avoided, regular exercising to maintain a
normal body weight and being choosy in whatever one eats especially as regards to
meat and fats are some of the things one needs to observe keenly to avoid
predisposing oneself to such diseases.
REFERENCES

 Ricker Polsdofer, MD. Lifestyle changes to manage stroke, Retrieved June 20,
2010, from http://www.med.nyu/strokecenter/treatment/lifestyle/html.

 From Alzheimer’s association website http://www.alz.org/.

 From http://www.naturalhealth perspective.com/

 From http://wiki-answers.com/