Such diseases can also be called "civilization diseases," because as civilizations progress and prosper, they eventually alter the earth's atmosphere and environment to such an extent that many additional "pollutants" enter the ecosystem and cause diseases in the human body.
Fatigue is probably one of the most common side effects of a strenuous lifestyle compounded by the consumption of minimally-nutritious food. Our diets today comprise of many "convenience foods" including those made up of refined flours, unnatural fats (like trans fats) and refined sugars. These substances have insignificant nutritious value. They only provide empty calories, which mean that they have only simple carbohydrates which are easily broken down by our body and energy is released in a burst, and does not support activities for a long time. This leads to a feeling of tiredness. What our body really needs is complex carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre (which is essential for good digestion).
India, with its high technical workforce, has become an enviable destination for IT and IT-enabled services companies (ITeS) employing 2.5 million people. By 2020, the sector is poised to employ around 10 million people. This rapid rise also brings along with it many health problems.
An estimated 55% of this workforce was found to suffer from sleep-related problems and other problems like obesity, heart problems due to bad diet, stressful working environment and non-physical activities. Prolonged use of computers can cause chronic pain in the back, neck, shoulders and arms. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a major ailment affecting the bones of the palm and wrist. This is caused due to excessive typing on the computer.
In a previous article about risinglifestyle-relatedIllnessesinIndia, we highlighted the correlation between the quality of our diet and our genes. To make this point more clear, let us take the example of plastic. Plastics contain Bisphenol A (or BPA). BPA is a known xenoestrogen, meaning that it mimics the activity of the natural female hormone estrogen. Today, we use polycarbonate plastic bottles to store water and foods. Minute amounts of BPA leaches in the water and food and enters the bodies of young children. In females, this BPA mimics the activity of estrogen and may cause "precocious puberty," or puberty occurring at an unusually early age. There are innumerable social, physical and psychological factors around an early puberty and it should be a matter of grave concern to parents, especially, those of the girl child.
Our grandparents hardly, if ever, suffered from the so-called "lifestyle disorders." This was because they lived a simpler life.
SimplelivingIShealthyliving. In trying to emulate simplicity with machines, which are perceived as "helping aids," we have created a new set of problems for ourselves. We can achieve health and wellness even in today's scenario if only we keep a check on our diet and provide enough exercise to our minds and bodies.