Lifestyle change

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The country's top scientists and academicians issued a resolution at the end of the 37 th Annual Scientific Meeting declaring the Philippines in a crisis of lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases (NCD) “of unheralded extent”.

The National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) says data from the World Health Organization confirms the crisis of NCD's killed as many as 300,000 Filipinos in 2012 alone. The resolution noted this number of deaths attributed to diseases like stroke, heart attack, cancer and chronic lung disease is more than any single disaster, calamity or epidemic.

The resolution summed the threat up in the following statement: “NCDs have invaded us quietly and imperceptibly in the past few decades. Unless something is done, hundreds of thousands will continue to die unnecessarily each year, at huge economic and social cost.”

While lifestyle is generally regarded as a choice made by individuals, there is overwhelming scientific evidence that choices are heavily influenced by the environment. Filipinos consume unhealthy food and these days because unhealthy food is cheaper, they are bombarded by advertisements, and food establishments allow no choice. Inadequate physical activity can be traced to the lack of open spaces and no opportunities for non-motorized transport. Smoking is prevalent because tobacco is cheap and we are flooded with promotional materials at an early age.

The NAST called for the creation of a National Commission for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases under the Office of the President that can develop and oversee societal strategies that can reverse the trend or stop the crisis. The commission will analyze and provide oversight of existing policies, laws, plans and programs that may have an adverse impact on lifestyle. It will also take charge of the development of a research agenda for strategies to promote a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos.

Many of us fail to not only recognize the threat NCDs pose to our families and loved ones, we also refuse to recognize the fact that those deadly diseases are caused by our lifestyle choices and can therefore be prevented by ourselves. That may sound like an easy answer to the crisis but convincing an entire generation of Filipinos who have gotten used to fast food, convenience, as well as instant and effortless results to review and ultimately change their convenient but unhealthy lifestyles should pose a momentous challenge for the government, the medical community, and the business sector but the bottom line is that this crisis can only be resolved if we all act individually to improve our lifestyles.*