Rejuvenation of senile diseases
Hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, stroke. Age-related diseases quickly "get younger"
Natalia Fursova, AIF-Health, 12.01.2012
A bent old man leaning on a cane and holding on to the small of his back... some time ago, this was how one could imagine a person with osteochondrosis. Today, adjustments will have to be made to his "portrait" – the disease is increasingly affecting the young.
Our expert is Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Director of the FSBI "State Research Center for Preventive Medicine" Sergey Boytsov.
"Younger" is not only osteochondrosis. Hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, arthrosis – all these diseases were inherent mainly in older people a couple of decades ago, and now they are increasingly being detected in those who are barely thirty. Earlier, the complications of these ailments also make themselves felt. Stroke or heart attack in young people, of course, are not ordinary phenomena, but doctors are no longer surprised.
Why do diseases "get younger"? The bad ecology is to blame for everything (so in the text – VM) – many will surely exclaim. And they will be wrong. An unfavorable environmental situation can affect health, but it is not able to give an impetus to the development of atherosclerosis or diabetes. The reasons for the "rejuvenation" of ailments are completely different.
Overly well - fedFirst of all, obesity leads to the early onset of diseases.
By the way, it has also become "younger". Previously, excess weight in most men appeared after 35 years. Women who are more attentive to their figure – after childbirth, or even on the background of menopause. Now "beer" bellies and fat folds on the back are often observed already in adolescents.
Over the past decades, we have begun to move noticeably less. Elevators, cars, household appliances have made our lives much easier. And the advent of computers made it possible not only to do work, but also to have fun, almost without getting up from your seat. The food has also changed. The range of products in stores has increased several times, and the food has begun to contain flavor enhancers, it has more fat and easily digestible carbohydrates. The result is that both adults and children consume more food than they need.
A special line is the craze of modern teenagers and young people for sweet soda and chips. They also belong to food products, but they can hardly be called real food. Potato "crunches" and over-sweetened fizz are not used by anyone in order to satisfy hunger. These are the attributes of a pastime: you can crunch while watching a movie, at lessons, in the company of friends. Alas, the calorie content of chips and drinks does not decrease from this, and a person imperceptibly gains kilograms for himself.
In Russia, more than half of the population is overweight. 8.5% of children in cities weigh more than the norm. In rural areas, there are fewer young "buns" and "donuts" – 5.5%, but this is also a very high indicator. After all, if a child is full, by the age of 30 he is likely to have clinically pronounced, diagnosed diseases.
Dangerous mechanismFat, especially if it is deposited not under the skin, but inside the abdominal cavity, has hormonal activity.
It secretes substances that increase blood pressure – hence the early hypertension. These same derivatives of adipose tissue accelerate the aging of blood vessels, making them more rigid and susceptible to cholesterol deposition – and now a person is already diagnosed with atherosclerosis.
The muscles of the back weaken due to a sedentary lifestyle, and excess weight greatly increases the load on the spine (after all, having excess kilograms is like carrying a heavy backpack) - young people develop osteochondrosis.
The more fat cells in the body and the larger they are, the less sensitive the body is to glucose. Because of this, diabetes is gradually developing. In this case, next to atherosclerosis, hypertension and obesity, you can put a multiplication sign: "sugar" disease accelerates the pace of their development several times.
At the same time, do not forget about another risk factor – smoking. Here, too, "rejuvenation". Previously, men started smoking at 16-17 years or later, girls – at 20 years or later. Now a 12‑year–old who has never smoked a cigarette is a pleasant exception to the rule. Nicotine is introduced not in high school, but in middle school. At the same time, smoking leads to hypertension and atherosclerosis and significantly worsens the course of diabetes.
Therefore, you should not blame the environment, the reason for the "rejuvenation" of diseases is in the behavior of people. It is entirely in our power to delay, and perhaps even prevent the appearance of ailments.
Watch your nutrition!First you need to realize that food intake must meet the needs of the body.
Not habits, not the desire to constantly feast, but needs. So far we have the exact opposite. A young man aged 17-18 eats a huge plate of food and does not get better. He has an active metabolism, and energy costs are high: friends called him to the disco, then he took a walk with a girl in the park. By the age of 25, the rate of metabolic processes begins to decrease, and hangouts and walks are replaced by office work. But – a person does not stop taking portions the size of an elephant, gradually turning from an athletically built guy into a loose man with a tummy.
It is not difficult to avoid this: with a decrease in physical activity, you need to reduce the amount of food. On average, it is desirable for a man working in an office to consume no more than 2500 kcal, it is better for a woman to limit herself to 2000 kcal.
It is desirable to form the correct eating behavior even in childhood. Practice shows that if parents do not buy soda or chips at home, they do not treat the baby with them, he does not ask for them until adolescence.
He can only get addicted to them by the end of high school – together with classmates somewhere on the street. But even in this case, it depends on the parents whether their child will become a regular consumer of unhealthy food or will try it from time to time, and, having grown up, will be able to refuse it. Try to explain to your son or daughter that it is harmful. Do it gently, without strict prohibitions, but persistently and confidently.
And also – don't set a bad example. Many moms and dads visit fast food establishments with their children on weekends. This unites the family, but the child quickly becomes dependent on junk food because of such "cultural trips". And the love of fast food is almost a 100% guarantee of obesity. So choose restaurants with regular, not "fast" food. And even better – go to the skating rink: it will also strengthen the family spirit, but it will not add body fat.
Walking away from the diseaseSkating, skiing in winter, roller skating or cycling in summer is a great pastime if there are children in the family.
This will at least distract students from the computer a little, make them move. For the same reason, a son or daughter should be enrolled in the sports section. But keep in mind – the sport should be liked by the child, otherwise there may be a lifelong aversion to sports.
For adults, physical activity is the main condition for maintaining health. At the same time, it is not necessary to buy a subscription to an expensive fitness club. A normal walk for 30-40 minutes is quite enough, if possible at a slightly accelerated pace. You need to do it at least five times a week.
This will help in solving at least two problems. Firstly, walking helps to consume calories. And secondly, it allows you to avoid or postpone the development of hypertension in time. If a person does not move much, most of the blood circulates in the abdominal cavity, in the internal organs. When we start walking, up to 80% of it rushes to the muscles. This immediately reduces the system pressure. And the vessels also train, gain tone and do not lose elasticity.
Another option of activity that perfectly heals the body is Scandinavian walking. It differs from the usual one in that ski poles are in the hands of a person while driving. Thanks to this, the upper part of the body works no less than the legs. Scandinavian "walks" burn almost 1.5 times more calories than usual, and perfectly train the cardiovascular system. So, if a person becomes addicted to them and at the same time quits smoking, early hypertension and atherosclerosis are unlikely to bother him.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
13.01.2012