Lifestyle-related diseases on the rise among SA's youth

Chantelle Benjamin: Business Day, 29 April 2011

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has told a conference of health experts in Moscow that he is concerned about the increase in avoidable lifestyle-related diseases in SA - a country where people are already dying young from HIV-related illnesses. Dr Motsoaledi, speaking at the First Global Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Non-Communicable Disease Control, said it was high time that SA gave the same kind of attention it gave to HIV/AIDS prevention as it gave to diseases caused by poor lifestyle choices, including smoking, lack of exercise and proper nutrition which had led to an increase in diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

The Department of Health's spokesman, Fidel Hadebe, said that one of the biggest concerns for the department was the incidence of diabetes among juveniles caused by "incorrect eating habits and a lifestyle which excluded sufficient exercise".  Dr Motsoaledi told delegates that what he found very worrying was that these diseases affected young populations and the economically active. He said most of these diseases were avoidable through simple behaviour changes, such as avoiding tobacco, regular exercise and good nutrition among others.

The conference, which included addresses by World Health Organisation head Margaret Chan and United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon, wants to encourage placing lifestyle diseases higher on global and political agendas. Hadebe said that one of the key priorities for the Health Department was the schools' health programme, launched with the Department of Education, to encourage physical activity among youngsters.