University Report: 7068SOH Disease Prevention and Lifestyle Factors

This report examines the relationship between lifestyle factors and the risk of developing diseases, particularly focusing on the case of Mr. Dominic Campbell, a 56-year-old man with a sedentary lifestyle, smoking habit, and poor dietary choices. The report identifies key lifestyle factors, including lack of physical activity, smoking, and excessive intake of sugary beverages and alcohol, as contributors to various health risks such as obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. It highlights the adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle and smoking on overall health, emphasizing the importance of a balanced diet and regular exercise. The report then discusses public health interventions and goals aimed at reducing disease risk through lifestyle modifications. These include government policies on tobacco control, promoting healthy diets with reduced sugar and fat intake, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and encouraging physical activity. The report stresses the role of health promotion in educating individuals about healthy behaviors and providing interventions to address behavioral risk factors. Finally, the report suggests specific interventions for Mr. Campbell, such as adopting a healthy diet, incorporating physical activity, and quitting smoking to reduce his risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases, aligning with public health guidelines and interventions.

Running head: LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
Lifestyle factors related to the risk of diseases
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
Aspects of dietary and lifestyles leading to disease
Choices of an unhealthy diet and daily routine can trigger various diseases, including
chronic diseases, obesity, and heart diseases. It reduces lifespan and increases the risk of
developing diseases. The factors of dietary and lifestyle that influences disease risk are lack
of physical activity, smoking, and intake of alcoholic and sugary beverages (National
Institutes of Health (NIH), 2020).
A sedentary lifestyle intensifies the risk of several diseases, including diabetes,
obesity, hypertension, heart diseases, and mortality factors. Adults aged between 18-65 need
to maintain a healthy lifestyle by performing physical activities of moderate-intensity which
include a minimum of 30 minutes workout every week for five days. A study showed that a
more intense workout reduced the risk of mortality in the elderly. Bicycling or walking for 20
minutes in a day for three days a week is adequate to maintain physical fitness. Walking
inability was associated with a higher risk of mortality, reduced movement, and coronary
disease (González, Fuentes and Márquez 2017). Lack of exercise is also considered as lethal
as smoking. It has been estimated that a lack of physical activity is responsible for heart
disease and colon cancer in one out of 10 and one out of five individuals respectively, in the
UK. Physical inactivity also caused type2 diabetes in 13% of the population (nhs.uk, 2020).
Leading a sedentary lifestyle has become a public health concern in recent times as 60-85%
of the population of developed countries worldwide. Physical activity is fundamental to
controlling weight and energy-burning (Who.int, 2020). Malnutrition can occur in adults
when he is consuming an excess of food and beverages that contains a high amount of energy
but lacks energy expenditure due to less physical activity. Malnutrition can lead to
overweight or obesity in adults. A study was done to find out the association of sedentary
lifestyle and physical activity with obesity. It was seen that there is a positive correlation of

2LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
sedentary behavior with waist circumference body along with body fat mass, whereas
moderate physical activity was correlated with adiposity without sedentary behavior (Myers
et al. 2017). In the case study, Mr. Dominic is physically inactive and leads a sedentary
lifestyle which has led to an increase in his weight and BMI which is above 30 (obese).
Obesity is directly associated with BMI so he is already above the risk rate of obesity which
is a health concern. Due to a lack of mobility, he might develop colon cancer.
Cigarette smoking leads to an increased risk of lung cancer in both men and women.
There is a likelihood of smokers to develop heart disease 2 to 4 times more than non-
smokers. Heart disease includes coronary heart disease where the blood vessels thicken to
increase blood pressure and forming clots. Stroke can also occur because a clot reduces blood
flow to the brain, causing it to burst. Lung disease caused by smoking includes COPD or
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which can finally lead to death. Smoking increases
the risk of death due to lung cancer (Fabbri 2016). In England, smoking is the major cause of
mortality and kills one out of two smokers leading to an enormous number of deaths per year.
84% of smokers die due to lung cancer and 83% due to COPD (Nhs.uk, 2020). Smoking has
been considered a condition of chronic relapse by the government of England, and it requires
treatment as most of the hospital admissions are due to smoking-related diseases. There is a
rise in the smoking rate to more than 6 million in recent years (GOV.UK, 2020). In the case
study, it is seen that Mr. Dominic is a daily smoker. So this can be a reason for him to be
susceptible to a number of heart and lung diseases, including cancer.
Sugary beverages include tea, coffee or any drink complemented with sugar and these
are the largest source of carbohydrate and contains a massive number of calories. Beyond
gaining weight, beverages loaded with sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes, coronary disease and
chronic diseases (Malik and Hu 2015). Excessive sugar can increase calories leading to
weight gain which is unhealthy. Being overweight can make the individual more susceptible

3LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
to health risks such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes because the blood sugar level of the
person is high. Intake of alcoholic beverages account for more than 10% of the population
and it indeed contains sugar, alcohol is a fermented form of sugar. Wines, sugars, and
liqueurs are high in sugar content. Alcohol consumption affects the blood sugar level of
individuals who are frequent drinkers. Therefore heavy drinking increases the secretion of
insulin which lower down the blood sugar level causing fatigue and dizziness. Continuous
consumption is responsible for fatty liver disease. Around 11% of the population of the UK
intakes sugar through alcohol consumption (Drinkaware.co.uk, 2020). In the case study, the
man drinks wine with almost every meal and an additional gin and tonic of Friday; therefore
he is intaking a lot of sugar in a day. Along with this, he intakes extra sugar in tea and coffee
which can be a leading cause of high-risk diseases.
Goals and public health initiatives to reduce the risk of disease
development
There are various strategies taken by an individual to prevent the occurrence of
nutrition and lifestyle-related diseases. It mainly involves the intake of a healthy diet,
physical activity and avoiding the use of addictive habits such as smoking to reduce the
burden of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and
cancer.
The first goal is to avoid smoking to stop regular smokers or non-smokers from
falling under the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. To reduce the rate of smoking,
the government has introduced policies on the tobacco control plan in England. According to
the plan following steps are to be maintained which include the increasing price of tobacco,
preventing the promotion of tobacco and spreading awareness among the population about its
harmful effects, and regulating tobacco products effectively. A statistical study showed that

4LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
37% of the smoker's population tried to quit smoking but only 19% were successful. To help
the smokers to quit smoking, they require services and therapies that are effective, a no-
smoking environment and social networks to support them. The presence of stop smoking
services in local areas is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy. But the use of
these services will drop if the smokers are not aware of its effectiveness. The healthcare
professionals should be responsible for targeting the services to the people who require it the
most. The use of electronic cigarettes instead of tobacco are encouraged to help smokers to
quit smoking. In Great Britain, electronic cigarettes are used by 2.6 million adults where
every two out of five users are ex-smokers. In some researches, it was shown that social
networking is important in spreading smoking cessation. Research shows that in 67% of cases
a person stops smoking when his/her spouse quits its use (GOV.UK, 2020).
The second goal is to maintain body weight by a healthy diet. Overweight individuals
are two to three times more in the health risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and
cardiovascular diseases therefore a healthy diet should containing limited sugar and fat.
These goals can be achieved by the following aspects of diet- firstly including food with
omega-3 fatty acids by substituting saturated fatty acids with unsaturated fatty acids. This
will decrease the risk of coronary artery disease by the accumulation of cholesterol in the
blood. Increasing intake of fish and hydrogenated soyabean oil that contain omega-3 fatty
acid can aid in disease prevention. Reducing the intake of vegetable oil can also be effective.
Secondly increasing the rate of fruits and vegetable consumption will bring down the risk of
heart diseases and stroke. Thirdly intaking food with high fiber such as cereals and whole
grains that are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. High fiber
intake is also useful in smooth bowel movement and controlling weight gain. Fourthly
avoiding consumption of refined sugar from sugarcane, sugar beets and sweeteners (Dalen
and Devries 2014). It was suggested by WHO that not more than 10% of energy should be

5LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
consumed from sugar (Who.int, 2020). Fifthly there should be a minimum intake of sodium
salt and calories from any sources such as sweetened beverages and alcohol. Increased
sodium salt n the blood can affect the blood pressure which can lead to stroke, therefore, it
has been suggested to take not more than 1.7 grams of salt every day.
Finally, health promotion is a way by which people can control their health and
determinants of health by education on increasing healthy behaviors. This can be done by
introducing healthy practices in the community by the population to bring awareness of
health risks and its negative outcomes. Health promotion aims at directing the factors of
behavioural risks such as smoking, weight gain (overweight and obesity), unhealthy diet and
lack of physical activity along with other areas of health. Health promotion is useful to carry
out goals on services for disease prevention and areas focussed on social determinants of
health (Emro.who.int, 2020). Interventions should aim at bringing a change in the diet and
lifestyle of an individual. These interventions include workplace education to improve
physical health by motivating them to walk or take public transport to reach the workplace,
promoting physical activities and offering them healthy food in the common food counter.
This will eventually reduce the health risk of employees. Cycling and walking along with
physical activities can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Reduction in processed food is
important because it is one of the largest sources of salt and decreasing the salt content slowly
can reduce the risks of diseases. Therefore good coordination between manufacturers and
regulators of government should be present so that food with lower salt content is at demand.
If healthy food is available in abundance and the cost of these food products is affordable
then it can enhance health (Cogswell et al. 2016)
In the case of the man in the given case study, he should follow a healthy diet to
reduce the intake of unnecessary calories leading to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and
cardiovascular disease. His diet should include more vegetables, fruits, and fiber-containing

6LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
food rather than sugar, alcohol, processed food and milk products such as cheese. As he is
obese and leads a sedentary lifestyle, he should include physical activity in his daily routine
for a period of time suggested by the healthcare provider. This will reduce his weight and
health risks associated with it. Excessive food intake in an inappropriate way should also be
reduced or it may lead to malnutrition and related health issues. Smoking s another factor that
contributes to an unhealthy lifestyle and pulmonary disease which should be minimized
following the helping guidelines of the control smoking plan. Public health interventions
mentioned above should guide him to reduce disease risk and lead a healthy lifestyle.

7LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
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8LIFESTYLE FACTORS RELATED TO THE RISK OF DISEASES
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