Many chronic diseases are caused by key risk behaviours.

By making healthy choices, we

can reduce our likelihood of getting a chronic disease and improve our quality of life.

Stopping smoking or never start smoking is a challenge nowadays.

Many smokers struggle with withdrawal and cravings when they quit, but there are ways to deal
with these temporary challenges. Learn more about cravings and slips, and get tips for coping
with them. Quitting smoking will lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease,
cancer, type 2 diabetes, and lung disease, as well as premature death—even for longtime
smokers. Quitting smoking is one of the most important steps one can take to improve his health.
This is true no matter how old you are or how long you have smoked. Many people who smoke
become addicted to nicotine, a drug that is found naturally in tobacco. This can make it hard to
quit smoking. But the good news is there are proven treatments that can help you quit through
counseling and medications.

Some of the issues for eating healthy are the easiest food choices aren’t always the
healthiest, they don’t have time to buy and prepare healthy food, mind set of healthy food as too
expensive, people around them don’t eat healthily. Eating healthy helps prevent, delay, and
manage heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases. A balanced diet of fruits,
veggies, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products is important at any age. If you are
overweight, losing even 5% to 7% of your body weight can help prevent or delay type 2
diabetes.

The issues faced for carrying out regular physical activity are not in the habit of being
physically active, lack of time, not feeling well, bored with exercise and having pain or injury.
Regular physical activity can help you prevent, delay, or manage chronic diseases. Aim for
moderate physical activity (like brisk walking or gardening) for at least 150 minutes a week.
Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of death in the world. Following the
recommendations and getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity
can put you at a lower risk for these diseases. You can reduce your risk even further with more
physical activity. Regular physical activity can also lower your blood pressure and improve your
cholesterol levels.

One major issue for individuals who struggle to understand how to stop drinking is a lack
of understanding from others. People who don’t face this challenge may think: If you want to
stop drinking, just stop. In reality, it’s not that simple. Over time, excessive drinking can lead to
high blood pressure, various cancers, heart disease, stroke, and liver disease. By not drinking too
much, you can reduce these health risks. The short-term health risk for excessive alcohol use has
immediate effects that increase the risk of many harmful health conditions. These are most often
the result of binge drinking and include the following:

 Injuries, such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, drownings, and burns.

 Violence, including homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
 Alcohol poisoning, a medical emergency that results from high blood alcohol levels.
  Risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners. These
behaviors can result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, including
HIV.
 Miscarriage and stillbirth or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) among pregnant
women.

Long-Term Health Risks

Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other
serious problems including:

 High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems.
 Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, and colon.
 Weakening of the immune system, increasing the chances of getting sick.
 Learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor school performance.
 Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
 Social problems, including lost productivity, family problems, and unemployment.
 Alcohol use disorders, or alcohol dependence.

To prevent chronic diseases or catch them early, visit your doctor regularly for preventive
services. Talk with your doctor about when and how often you should be screened. Depending
on your personal health history, family health history, or screening results, your doctor may
recommend a different screening schedule. Screening means checking your body for cancer
before you have symptoms. Getting screening tests regularly may find breast, cervical, and
colorectal (colon) cancers early, when treatment is likely to work best. Lung cancer screening is
recommended for some people who are at high risk.

Insufficient sleep has been linked to the development and poor management of diabetes,
heart disease, obesity, and depression. Adults should get at least 7 hours of sleep daily.
Understanding how lack of sleep affects your health can allow you to make healthier decisions
for you and your family. The following pages share information about sleep disorders and how
lack of sleep can affect the health of someone living with a chronic disease. You can find out
how much sleep is recommended for different age groups and read tips on how to improve the
quality of your sleep. This section ends with recommendations on what to do if you are still
having trouble sleeping. As chronic diseases have assumed an increasingly common role in
premature death and illness, interest in the role of sleep health in the development and
management of chronic diseases has grown. Notably, insufficient sleep has been linked to the
development and management of a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including type 2
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression.

If you have a family health history of a chronic disease like cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, or osteoporosis, you are more likely to get that disease yourself. Share your family
health history with your doctor, who can help you take steps to prevent disease and catch it early
if it develops. By making healthy behaviors part of your daily life, you can prevent conditions
such as high blood pressure or obesity, which raise your risk of developing the most common
and serious chronic diseases. Learn more about healthy actions you or your loved ones can take.

As a conclusion, everyone has the prospective of making a considerable improvement in

the preventing and curbing of chronic diseases. Better achievements as far as chronic diseases
are concerned can be achieved with good healthy practices, being strict on medication, seeking
health advise and services, getting involved in exercises and many more.

References

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