HealthcareThe Five Most Common Public Health Issues

Since 2019 the world has been facing a lot of difficulties in general public health. We have faced deadly epidemics of dengue, chikungunya, zika virus, etc. These epidemics continued to ravage the tropical and subtropical areas and were a threat to spread to other sites. Measles was also a threat until modern medicine controlled it with the help of vaccination.

Even in 2020, the novel coronavirus emerged, which struck the world more severely. However, the pandemic is very much under control now. These are some common public health emergencies declared by WHO. But several health conditions still require additional attention from the health care authorities.

Public health care workers work day and night to safeguard the population’s health. They constantly monitor, investigate and prevent any health issue. The job of public healthcare workers is to conduct research on the prevalent diseases, reach out to the public and counsel them accordingly.

With the increase in public health issues, there is a robust demand for general health care professionals. Hence, public health programs have a greater scope nowadays. So if you wish to make a difference in the community, you can consider this field your profession.

Hence, this is the ideal time to make most of this positive public health career outlook and enroll in a similar program. Despite the fact, medicine has advanced a lot with the evolution in technology; yet some common public health issues still plague the world.

Continue reading the blog to enhance your knowledge if you wish to pursue public health in the future:

1. Obesity:

Being overweight is not just an increase in the number of your body weight; in fact, it takes you a step further closer to complex diseases. A significant factor that is associated with obesity is poor nutritional intake and physical inactivity.

Not everyone obese is at risk of developing diseases; it depends significantly on where fat accumulates. If you have truncal obesity, you are at higher risk because of the fat deposits around the vital organs such as the liver, heart, kidneys, and stomach.

Hence, every individual should know about their body mass index and take adequate measures to increase physical activity.

2. Heart diseases:

One of the significant consequences of obesity is heart conditions. Physical inactivity and increased body weight lead to increased blood pressure and deposition of cholesterol in the arteries. According to research, the primary cause of death in the United States is heart disease.

Such conditions include myocardial infarctions, stroke, angina, valvular heart diseases, arrhythmia, etc. Some of the conditions mentioned are in the genes; hence they are not preventable.

In contrast, some conditions depend on our unhealthy lifestyle. Hence, getting diagnosed with heart disease does not mean a death sentence but means that people should slowly and gradually shift their lifestyle to a healthy one to manage these conditions efficiently.

3. Alcoholism:

Excessive alcohol consumption has become a severe health problem, especially amongst teenagers in developed countries. According to an estimate, around 88,000 people die due to alcoholic liver disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

These known conditions have several associated risk factors. One such aspect is binging of alcohol. It’s okay to have a drink occasionally, but even moderate drinkers face harmful side effects in the long run. In contrast,  heavy alcohol drinkers are severely affected—their physical and mental health deteriorates with time.

The body’s immune system weakens severely. Hence, the government should pass strict laws to control excessive alcohol consumption. Another recommendation is to increase taxes on alcohol so that there is less purchase and even lesser consumption. There are treatment centres to help many kinds of addicts (alcohol and drug) no matter what your background, including Jewish addiction treatment centres.

4. Diabetes:

Diabetes mellitus is known to be one of the most common metabolic diseases. The blood glucose level increases massively in this condition, either due to insufficient insulin production or insulin resistance. The increased blood sugar level damages other organs of the body.

In diabetes, eyesight, kidney function, and neurological systems are greatly affected. Many factors can put you at risk, such as family history, obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, etc. Hence, if you are associated with any of the mentioned risk factors, it is essential to modify your lifestyle.

5. Smoking:

No matter what form of tobacco you use, it is always harmful to your health. The components of a cigarette include acetone, tar, carbon monoxide, etc. all of these ingredients affect your lungs and damage the entire body system.

There are several complications it can cause. Some of these complications appear immediately, while some are chronic conditions. It requires a lot of self-motivation and determination.

If you wish to quit smoking, it won’t be easy, but if you keep in mind the dangers smoking cause, it will get easy to stop. You can also consult your physician for further guidance.

A take-home message:

Since these diseases are amplifying with time, it’s high time you take adequate measures to control them. If you are a health care worker, you should step forward to spread awareness amongst the locals.

You should prepare yourself to be impactful. Hence, please participate in awareness campaigns and counsel people to consider these public health issues a significant concern.

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