Diseases of
affluence
Type two
diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, some cancers, alcoholism,
depression, and other psychiatric illnesses.
Non-communicable, unlike diseases of poverty which are communicable
through infection, poor public health, and poor hygiene. Policy makers are
criticised as development may be self-defeating, why trade one disease for
another? Expensive to treat people as they live longer in developed countries.
Diabesity
Obesity and
type two diabetes is a major global health problem that costs the European Union
15 billion Euros a year. It is a problem caused by eating unhealthy fatty foods
whilst doing little to no exercise. It is on the rise especially in developed
countries where access to cheap unhealthy food is easy and leisure time is long
meaning little exercise is done.
Factors causing these diseases;
>Increased
car use
>Less
strenuous physical activities
>Large
amounts of low cost food easily accessible
>More
high fat and high sugar foods in the diet
>Increased
leisure time
>Prolonged
periods of inactivity or sedentary work
>Greater
use of alcohol and tobacco
>Longer
lifespans
Type 2 diabetes in the UK and
worldwide
Three
million people in the UK are now estimated to have type 2 diabetes. The number
of people diagnosed with diabetes shot up by 100,000. Now 2.3 million Britons
are diagnosed and a further 750,000 are meant to have diabetes without knowing
it. Overweight children in the UK are getting type two diabetes when it usually
occurs in over 40's.
Diabetes is
a problem because small blood vessels can be damaged, causing damage to the
kidneys and eyes leading to kidney failure and blindness. It also leads to
nerve damage, affecting the ability to feel sensations and pain. Larger blood
vessels can be damaged leading to heart disease and strokes. Damage to the
circulation can also increase the risk of leg or foot ulcers, which can lead to
gangrene and even amputation. Type two diabetes can be treated by a healthy
diet, keeping weight under control, regular physical activity, no smoking or
drinking.
Diseases of
poverty
There are many diseases of poverty but the main issue facing many LIC’s
seems to be famine. Famines are
not necessarily a lack of food but a lack of resources to get food. In 2005
serious famines affected Niger and Chad. People were unable to buy their own
food, when their own livestock and crops failed. This is because people in
Niger live on less than $1 a day. 20 per cent of the population owns half of
the country’s wealth where-as the poorest 20 per cent only own 5 per cent of
the wealth. Most of the poor live in rural areas and depend on farming. The
main constraint of their farming is unreliable water. Where irrigation can be
made available productivity is high however rainfall has been decreasing since
the 1970's.
Breaking the
cycle of poverty:
>Improvements
in farming productivity
>Development
of irrigation so its made affordable and manageable to rural communities
>Improved
marketing so food can be distributed efficiently
>Incentives
to encourage farmers to invest surpluses in improving agriculture
>Improved
childcare to reduce infant mortality rate
>Inoculation
and immunisation programmes
>Improved
hygiene to reduce the risks of transmission of infections
>Simple
rehydration medicines to reduce deaths from gastrointestinal infections
>Access
to birth control advice and affordable condoms
>Education
particularly of women so that they can read and understand instructions for
health care
>Improved
access to modern ways of cooking to reduce fuel wood collection which wastes
time that could be spent on family care and causes respiratory problems caused
by smoke
No comments:
Post a Comment