Preventative Strategies for Chronic Health Conditions
Did you know in 2018 Australian’s lost 5 million years of healthy life due to chronic health conditions? Each year, Australians are faced with a growing number of years of healthy life lost and it is time we do something about it. Loss of healthy life is a term coined ‘burden of disease’, which is a measure of the impact of disease and injuries (both fatal and non-fatal) on a population, in this case Australians.
The top five conditions that caused disease burden were:
- Coronary heart disease
- Back pain
- Dementia
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Lung cancer
The Scale of Chronic Health in Australia
Astonishingly, the Australian Burden of Disease Study (2018 – 2019), identified that 38% of this loss of healthy life each year could have been prevented through modifying lifestyle risk factors.
Let’s highlight some CRAZY health statistics for you before we start talking strategy:
- If you have a chronic health condition, you are not alone. One in two Australians have one condition and three in five adults over the age of 65 have at least two (AIHW 2021).
- In 2019-2020, chronic health conditions accounted for a mindboggling 9 in 10 deaths in Australia (AIHW 2021).
- In 2018 – 2019, Australians spent $14 billion on treating musculoskeletal conditions and $12 billion on cardiovascular disease (AIHW 2021).
- Due to the global impact of chronic diseases, the United Nations (UN) has called for a 25% reduction in mortality from chronic conditions among people age 30 – 70 years by 2025. (Beaglehole et al. 2011; Hunter & Reddy 2013).
1. Is There a Silver Bullet Treatment for Chronic Health?
Wouldn’t that be a treat if there was one!
The best way to treat and manage most common chronic health conditions is through lifestyle modification and prevention. Some strategies include staying in a healthy weight range, managing blood pressure, dietary modification, changing alcohol habits and/or quitting smoking. However, a lot of the time this is easier said than done.
Ask yourself?
- What is the state of my health or my level of physical activity preventing me from doing?
- Is anyone else impacted by me having this condition?
- Why does it matter to me to better manage my health?
- Does the short-term sacrifice I am about to make right now out-weigh the long-term benefits I will receive?
2. Where do I Start?
Changing your diet doesn’t always have to be dramatic, especially when you are beginning your health and lifestyle-change journey. How about starting by making some swaps? When it comes to changing your eating habits, it’s the small things you do all the time that are more important than making major changes irregularly. Lowering your calorie intake through swapping one delicious food for another can be an easy way to make changes without compromising on flavour.
- Swap chips for savoury biscuits or popcorn, there are many delicious lower-calorie snacks that can be a good substitute for a salty snack.
- Swap regular mince for heart smart mince. The percentage of fat in regular mince is MUCH higher than the heart smarter options available at supermarkets. This automatically will lower your fat and calorie intake, without having to change your diet choices.
- Swap milk chocolate for dark chocolate! Some sweet snacks that curb a sugar craving are higher in calories or sugar than others.
3. Get Moving!
Do not rule out incidental exercise as a great way to start your physical activity journey or improve on what you are already doing. Park in a carpark that is further away from the shops, get off the bus a stop early, walk the kids to school, use the stairs rather than the elevator, go for a quick walk at lunch and/or swap the car for a bike to get to work. Do you know how much physical activity you should be doing in a week? Australian statistics show that 55% of Australians aged 18 – 64 do not meet the minimum weekly requirements of physical activity outlined below.
The Department of Health Guidelines for physical activity for adults aged 18 – 64 are the following:
Preferably be physically active each day with a combination of strength training, moderate intensity and vigorous intensity activity each week.
Weekly Recommendations:
- 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity – such as a brisk walk, golf, mowing the lawn, gardening or swimming
- 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity – such as jogging, aerobics, fast cycling, soccer or netball, running around with the kids
- 2 strength sessions per week – either gym or household tasks such as gardening, digging or carrying
For those over the age of 65, the Department of Health’s recommendation is that on most days, you should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity.
4. Don't Forget your ZZ's to Manage Chronic Health!
Did you know that your body regulates sleep in a similar way to how it manages food intake, breathing and drinking (Harvard 2021). For this reason, it is important to think of sleep as a function that is just as crucial as any other bodily process that is necessary to sustain life. A minimum of 8 hours is the recommendation for sleep each night. Why you might ask?
Why should you:
- Put the phone and screens away early?
- Avoid caffeine later in the day?
- Or do mindfulness before bed?
Obtaining the recommended number of hours of sleep lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Queensland Health 2021), improves memory and learning (Harvard 2021) and sates your appetite (Healthdirect 2020).
5. Social Connection
Something that many people don’t know is just how important our social connections are to our health. The Harvard University’s Study of Adult Development is an 80-year long research project focusing on the question, ‘what leads to a happy and healthy life, long-term?’
Researchers analysed levels of physical activity, economic status, fame, IQ and more. Robert Waldinger, the study’s current director states that “our relationships keep us happier and healthier, period.”
* Something to think about is that hearing loss impacts our ability to connect to the world around us and can lead to social isolation. Treating hearing loss has been found to be the number one modifiable risk factor for dementia.
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Something to think about...
“80% of chronic health conditions can be prevented through lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise”.
– Dr Golubic, 2020 (a leader in integrative and preventative lifestyle medicine)
This statistic just goes to show that by targeting each of the lifestyle factors in our Urban Well Health Circle (left), you can reduce your risk of developing a chronic health condition.
References:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/burden-of-disease-study-2018-key-findings/contents/key-findings
https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/physical-activity-and-exercise/physical-activity-and-exercise-guidelines-for-all-australians/for-adults-18-to-64-years
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/burden-of-disease-study-2018-key-findings/contents/key-findings
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/insufficient-physical-activity
https://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/sleep