Major Public Health & Lifestyles

Issues in India
Unit 1
 Lifestyle Issues
Health is multi-factorial and complex.  It is influenced by a
number of things including our age, family history of illness,
employment, education and living conditions. 
Behavioural and social issues that impact on health of individuals
and community are increasingly becoming lifestyles issues of
public health in India, both the rural and the urban. These include
smoking, increasing consumption of alcohol, poor dietary habits
leading to obesity or malnutrition, lack of physical exercise, sexual
behaviours and problems resulting from drugs.
There is also increasing incidence of rise in cases of mental illness.
 Lifestyle Diseases
• A disease associated with the way a person or group of people
lives. Lifestyle diseases include heart disease,
and stroke, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, and diseases
associated with smoking, and alcohol and drug abuse, Regular
physical activity helps prevent obesity, heart disease,
hypertension, diabetes, colon cancer, and premature mortality.
• These also many degenerative diseases which includes
 Alzheimer's, arthritis, asthma, chronic liver
disease or cirrhosis,  metabolic syndrome, chronic renal
failure, osteoporosis, depression, dental problems.
 Defining Healthy lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is one which helps to keep and
improve peoples health and well-being. Many
governments and non-governmental organizations work
at promoting healthy lifestyles. There are lot of
discussions happening around importance of health and
balance.
The ways to being healthy include healthy eating, physical
activities, weight management, and stress management.
Making just a few changes in lifestyle  can help one live
longer
Good Nutrition& Physical Activities

Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy

lifestyle, combined with physical activity, your diet can
help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce
your risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and
cancer).
Regular physical health checks by doctor or health care
professionals are an important part of looking after
oneself, especially for people with a mental illness as
some of those affected can be at greater risk of
physical health problems, such as diabetes and heart
disease.
 Role & Importance of Yoga
Yoga is a way of living that aims for building a healthy
mind in a healthy body. Yoga asanas build strength,
flexibility and confidence of an individual. Yoga is not
religion. Regular practice of yoga can help lose weight,
relieve stress, improve immunity and maintain a healthier
lifestyle.
Man is a physical, mental and spiritual being; yoga helps
promote a balanced development of all the three. Other
forms of physical exercises assure only physical well-
being. They have little to do with the development of the
spiritual or astral body. Yoga The word 'yoga' means "to
join or Yoke together". It brings the body and mind
together to become a harmonious experience
 Yoga promoted by the PM
• In 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested United Nations
to celebrate June 21 as the International Yoga Day as it is the summer
solstice; the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
• PM Sh.Narendra Modi in his address in UN General Assembly, on
September 2014 said that"Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient
tradition. This tradition is 5000 years old. It embodies unity of mind and
body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between
man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not
about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the
world and the nature.By changing our lifestyle and creating
consciousness, it can help in well being . Let us work towards adopting
an International Yoga Day." — Narendra Modi, UN General Assembly,
September 2014
 Yoga
Yoga builds all-round fitness –one is healthy when one is not just
physically fit but also mentally and emotionally balanced. As Sri Sri
Ravi Shankar puts it, “Health is not mere absence of disease. It is a
dynamic expression of life – in terms of how joyful, loving and
enthusiastic you are.” This is where yoga helps: postures, pranayama
(breathing techniques) and meditation are a holistic fitness package.
• Improves health
• Gives mental strength
• Increases physical power
• Protection against injury
• Detoxifies the body
 Yoga for weight loss 
Sun Salutations and KapalBhati pranayama are
some ways to help lose weight with
yoga. Moreover, with regular practice of yoga,
one tends to become more sensitive to the kind
of food that the body requires. This can also
help keep a check on weight. 
 Stress relief
• A few minutes of yoga during the day can be a
great way to get rid of daily stress in both the
body and mind. Yoga postures, pranayama and
meditation are effective techniques to release
stress.
Yoga helps to live with greater awareness

 The mind is constantly involved in activity –

swinging from the past to the future – but never
staying in the present. By simply being aware of
this tendency of the mind, yoga helps to relax
the mind. Yoga and pranayama help create
that awareness and bring the mind back to the
present moment, where it can stay happy and
focused.
 Yoga increases energy
If one feels completely drained out by the end of
the day? Shuttling between multiple tasks
through the day can sometimes be quite
exhausting. A few minutes of yoga everyday
provides the secret to feeling fresh and
energetic even after a long day. A 10-minute
online guided meditation benefits immensely,
leaving refreshed and recharged in the middle of
a hectic day.