The lifestyle medicine revolution has begun

World Health Day instead of World Day of the Sick

The issue of our health has once again come to the fore in connection with the recently held World Day of the Sick. Unfortunately, however, the emphasis is still on diseases and their treatment, not on health and its maintenance. According to the latest WHO international statistics for 2024, a drastic change has occurred in terms of leading diseases. While in 2000, the top 10 killer diseases included four infectious diseases and four non-infectious, chronic diseases, by 2021 there were already seven non-infectious, chronic diseases on the list. Cardiovascular problems, diabetes and various cancers lead the statistics. Worldwide, 20 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed and 9.7 million people died from cancer in 2022. However, experts say these numbers are not a law. Modern medicine is increasingly recognizing that a significant portion of diseases could be prevented by lifestyle changes, and that the focus should be on maintaining health rather than treating diseases.

Environmental pressures and bad habits

The majority of people struggle with problems related to nutrition and obesity, lack of exercise and sleep. The external pressures of modern lifestyles include improper nutrition, consumption of ultra-processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, sleep disorders and chronic stress. These are difficult to “resist”. Most of humanity is constantly becoming more comfortable, and this instinct is well served by many industries. The good news: if we educate ourselves and our children and consciously change our lifestyles, a significant portion of diseases can be prevented or reversed.