On 23rd May 2023, a leading newspaper in Mumbai carried an article stating that ‘Heart attacks took 26 lives a day in Mumbai, cancer 25 in 2022.’

And this is just an estimate – the actual numbers could be slightly higher. That means around 10,000 in Mumbai alone die every year due to heart attacks and an equal number die due to cancer.

There are other diseases too that kill but we restrict our discussion to heart attacks and cancer as the numbers are significant, they are seen more often in younger people and both are attributable to lifestyle. Which means changes in lifestyle can reduce these numbers especially in the younger people.

The lifestyle of people has definitely changed over the years. One of the reasons being increase in disposable incomes – this has led to youngsters indulging in lazy and unhealthy lifestyles. Very few do any exercises, move around in cars, sleep less, eat unhealthy foods, have high personal and work stress levels, and are generally unhappy.

When I was in my early twenties in 1980s in medical school we had no disposable incomes – this was a boon as we walked as we didn’t have cars, slept well, ate healthy home foods, had little personal and work stress and were very happy with life.

In the mid-80s, I worked in a 8-bed ICCU where most of the patients were elderly men and a few elderly women. Once in a couple of months we would get a younger one getting admitted to the ICCU. As time progressed, women in late forties, men in early forties started to dominate the ICCU admissions.

Today ICCU is a mixed bag – everyone is there in ICCU. And it is worrisome to see the number of youngsters rising. As mentioned above the scene in the ICCU has changed mainly because of lifestyle issues and no one seems to be interested in mitigating it. The youngsters take it lightly.

Wellness programs in large corporations and wellness talks by MSME (Micro Small Medium Enterprise) business owners should remind the youngsters how important it is to take care of their health in view of increase in incidence of heart attacks and cancer. The programs should reiterate the significance of having a healthy lifestyle as that is what is causing the increase in numbers.

It is interesting to note that cancer is on the rise globally, however, in the US it is on the decline. Increased and timely screening, reduction in smokers and new treatment options are some of the reasons for the decline.  

Both, heart disease and cancer are unpredictively fatalistic and are expensive to treat. They not only demoralize the individual but also the families and friends. Hence, collectively, as a population we should be mindful of these and take steps to minimize our chances of getting heart disease and cancer.

A few things that that youngsters can do are:

  • Refrain from smoking
  • Eat home-prepared fresh foods
  • Avoid ultra-processed foods
  • Do regular exercises
  • Take alcohol in moderation and not frequently
  • Get medical checks done as advised by a competent physician

According to WHO (World Health Organization), over 1.5 million adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years died in 2021, about 4500 every day. Injuries (including road traffic injuries and drowning), interpersonal violence, self-harm and maternal conditions are the leading causes of death among adolescents and young adults. Half of all mental health disorders in adulthood start by age 14, but most cases are undetected and untreated.

Even if genetics or hereditary accounts for an increase in incidence of heart attacks and cancers in the young, we should all remember that positive lifestyle modifications (exercise, sleep, nutrition etc.) can tilt the odds in favor of longevity while negative lifestyle (smoking, excessive alcohol, lack of exercise etc.) habits can decimate the good genetics leading to premature diseases, including heart attacks and cancers.   

Awareness about mental health should be a priority with both the government and the private enterprises. An Occupational Health (OH) physician in corporations addresses these important issue as a part of preventative medicine. 

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Dr Ajay Sati is an Occupational Health physician who prefers to describe himself as an Occupationist, to denote, ‘an expert in diseases and other concerns of occupations.’ Dr Sati has managed health and wellness programs in industries he worked, like the atomic energy, and energy (oil & gas) in India and overseas. An experienced virtual consultation expert he was involved in many greenfield and brownfield projects providing inputs from health point of view.