It’s common for people in their youth to think that any health problems are at least another decade or two away from them. Of course, that’s what we witness in the older generation. However, it is critical to note that health problems are much nearer to us due to the extreme change in lifestyles than we anticipated. Even older adults today might mistake themselves to be immune to health problems such as strokes or cancers.
Some health problems are inevitable. However, the damage they bring can be mitigated if we identify what’s wrong on a timely basis. Instead of going into denial, we should be working towards finding solutions for our problems with a clinical practitioner. Some people may not even consider several health problems to be endangering towards health. For example, a sedentary lifestyle is critically dangerous. It gives birth to extreme obesity in some people, yet it was the lifestyle most of us followed during the work-from-home era. Even though obesity doesn’t directly kill you, it is the root cause of several health issues like strokes, diabetes, heart-related disease, and a few types of cancer.
Another example is that many of us don’t even know the basic difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s due to our lack of education and awareness regarding health problems. We often use the two terms interchangeably; dementia compared to Alzheimer’s is a syndrome, not a disease. Alzheimer’s happens to be a prerequisite disease of dementia usually. Nevertheless, let’s get right to the common health problems among adults today and how to recognize them.
Obesity
It isn’t very difficult to recognize obesity as a health problem. However, it might be a bit difficult to accept that you’re suffering from it. Even when one does accept it, most people have lost the will to do something about it because it’s either too late (which it isn’t) or just too difficult to recover from obesity.
It requires every ounce of your willpower to shift to a healthier lifestyle once you’re obese. Recovering from obesity isn’t important because you want to look and feel good. It is more important to feel healthier to prevent leading health problems caused by obesity such as colon, breast, or prostate cancer, strokes, heart or gallbladder disease, breathing issues, etc.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is so common among adults today that it would be weird if you don’t have it by a certain age (thankfully and hopefully). It is also referred to as the silent killer in hospital terminology because it often leads to instant death-causing or life-altering health issues such as strokes, brain hemorrhage, paralysis, or deadly heart attacks. You might not even get enough time to call a doctor for this one. Due to the forceful pumping of blood through veins, high blood pressure often damages other organs like the kidneys, liver, brain, and most importantly, the heart.
To prevent high blood pressure when you’re older, you’ll need to alter your lifestyle beforehand when you’re in your early twenties. A doctor will be better able to guide you on how to do that. Sometimes you may not even know that you have high BP because the symptoms are so veiled. It’s the reason why we call it the silent killer. Therefore, take regular checkups at the hospital or keep a blood pressure monitor at home.
Strokes
As mentioned earlier, some health problems are always perceived to be too far away from us when we’re younger. It is true that strokes are too common among people who are 60 years plus. Even so, no medical science book says that you can’t get a stroke in your twenties. An above 30 percent spike has been witnessed in women between the age of 18 and 34 who suffered from strokes. This is, of course, due to the shift in lifestyles due to technology and the lack of healthy foods in our diet. The preservatives in our food are doing more damage to our health than we can imagine.
Another thing to note here is that strokes in younger people have proved to be more fatal than in adults. Risk factors that lead to stroke may include high blood pressure, increased levels of cholesterol, smoking addiction, or a sedentary lifestyle. You are also more likely to suffer from a stroke if you’re pregnant. Pregnancy acts as a stress test for most health problems. If you get it during this time, it means you were likely to have it before.
Diabetes
Diabetes can also be referred to as a silent killer as you can have it and still now know. Having diabetes can destroy many different parts of your body, or worse, it may even kill you. This one health problem isn’t just common in adults. Even much younger children can develop or inherit diabetes. The highest risk factor to cause diabetes is obesity. It can be said that diabetes is also somewhat epidemic in itself, followed by obesity. As you’ve noticed, fizzy drinks are cheaper than mineral water in most states around the world, so people would consume them when they’re thirsty.
Sugar makes us feel good as it releases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals like dopamine and serotonin. A 100 grams of sugar consists of nearly 400 calories. Thus calories are a leading cause of diabetes. Developing type-2 diabetes is far more common in women than men, especially if you’re Hispanic or Afro-American. Women during their pregnancy are also more vulnerable to developing gestational diabetes. If they do, they will likely suffer from it post-delivery.
We should never remain under the impression that because our parents led a healthy, disease-free life up until 50, we’re going to experience the same. There are major disparities between their lifestyle and our lifestyle. Ours is more equipped with technology and processed food, both making us lazy and bloated. You are what you eat, so our diet is the number 1 risk factor leading to most health conditions. It is almost necessary to keep an eye out for common symptoms of health issues stated above by getting regular checkups at the hospital. Prevention and early diagnosis are always better for you.
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