Dr RVS Bhalla, Director & HOD – Internal Medicine Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad
It is not uncommon to find young people being affected by diabetes and high cholesterol levels nowadays. The main reason for this is the sedentary habits that have crept in and are common in the younger generation. The COVID epidemic with its restrictions on mobility has further worsened this situation.
Youngsters are preoccupied with mobiles/TV or laptops and screen time has replaced exercise. It is important to exercise for 30-45 minutes daily to be fit. Lack of exercise and indulgence in high-calorie diets like cold drinks, sweets, junk food has led to a drastic increase in obesity, which is the main cause of the above illnesses. Hence we should prefer whole grain foods instead of refined flour, fruit over fruit juice or cold drink and roasted/steamed food over fried fruit.
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Excessive consumption alcohol even if it is beer leads to obesity as the caloric content of alcohol is high and it is usually taken with snacks. This practice should also be stopped. We can adopt healthier modes entertainment like music/simple get- to gathers in plays of alcohol.
Stress is another culprit because it causes an excess of harmful hormones and may also predispose to eating disorder leading to obesity and diabetes. We should try to avoid stress by managing time wisely, being prepared for work delegating excessive work, learning to say no, using techniques like yoga or meditation of relaxation so changes in life style will go a long way in preventing early onset of diabetes/cholesterol/heart disease.
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It is recommended that all adults 20 Years and older should get measured their cholesterol and other traditional risk factors for heart disease checked every 4-6 years.
After the age of 40, the doctor would also want to use equations to calculate the the10-year risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event/disease rand depending on the 10-year risk profile results decide on the frequency of further cholesterol screening.
