unhealthy nutrition over a prolonged period, tobacco use, physical inactivity,
excessive use of alcohol and psychosocial stress are among the major lifestyle
issues. The entire population is at risk because of mass elevated risk factors in
which individual susceptibility is enhanced by culture, economic factors and the
environment. India is the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco in the
world, consequently huge rates of cancer, particularly oral cancer in the world. This
costs India, for the individuals affected (treatment costs for tobacco related diseases)
about US $7.2 billion just for the year 2002–2003. In diabetes, we had an estimated
19.3 million in 1995. The projected number is 57.2 million by 2025. Shifting
dietary patterns, a decline in energy expenditure associated with a sedentary lifestyle, an ageing population. Changing lifestyles and stressed workplace environment have given rise to many chronic diseases in India.
2.2 Five Major Health Consequences and Nutritional
Problems in Changing Climate
(1) The agricultural sector is extremely sensitive to climate variability. Rising
temperatures and more frequent droughts and floods can compromise food security.
Increases in malnutrition are expected to be especially severe in countries, where
large populations depend on rain-fed subsistence farming. Malnutrition, much of it
caused by periodic droughts, is already responsible for an estimated 3.5 million
deaths each year. (2) More frequent extreme weather events mean more potential
deaths and injuries caused by storms and floods. In addition, flooding can be
followed by outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera, especially when water and
sanitation services are damaged or destroyed. Storms and floods are already among
the most frequent and deadly forms of natural disasters. (3) Both, scarcity of water
which is essential for hygiene, and excess water due to more frequent and torrential
rainfall will increase the burden of diarrhoeal disease, which is spread through
contaminated food and water. Diarrhoeal disease is already the second leading
infectious cause of childhood mortality and accounts for a total of approximately
1.8 million deaths each year. (4) Heatwaves, especially in urban “heat islands”, can
directly increase morbidity and mortality, mainly in elderly people with cardiovascular or respiratory disease. Apart from heat waves, higher temperatures can
increase ground-level ozone and hasten the onset of the pollen season, contributing
to asthma attacks. (5) Changing temperatures and patterns of rainfall are expected to
alter the geographical distribution of insect vectors that spread infectious diseases.
Of these diseases, malaria and dengue are of greatest public health concern. In
short, climate change can affect problems that are already huge, largely concentrated in the developing world, and difficult to combat. However, these problems
can be solved through corporate social responsibility in community development.
The magnitude and implications of the nutritional problems call for urgent actions.
Traditional Health Foods Security as Corporate …
553
excessive use of alcohol and psychosocial stress are among the major lifestyle
issues. The entire population is at risk because of mass elevated risk factors in
which individual susceptibility is enhanced by culture, economic factors and the
environment. India is the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco in the
world, consequently huge rates of cancer, particularly oral cancer in the world. This
costs India, for the individuals affected (treatment costs for tobacco related diseases)
about US $7.2 billion just for the year 2002–2003. In diabetes, we had an estimated
19.3 million in 1995. The projected number is 57.2 million by 2025. Shifting
dietary patterns, a decline in energy expenditure associated with a sedentary lifestyle, an ageing population. Changing lifestyles and stressed workplace environment have given rise to many chronic diseases in India.
2.2 Five Major Health Consequences and Nutritional
Problems in Changing Climate
(1) The agricultural sector is extremely sensitive to climate variability. Rising
temperatures and more frequent droughts and floods can compromise food security.
Increases in malnutrition are expected to be especially severe in countries, where
large populations depend on rain-fed subsistence farming. Malnutrition, much of it
caused by periodic droughts, is already responsible for an estimated 3.5 million
deaths each year. (2) More frequent extreme weather events mean more potential
deaths and injuries caused by storms and floods. In addition, flooding can be
followed by outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera, especially when water and
sanitation services are damaged or destroyed. Storms and floods are already among
the most frequent and deadly forms of natural disasters. (3) Both, scarcity of water
which is essential for hygiene, and excess water due to more frequent and torrential
rainfall will increase the burden of diarrhoeal disease, which is spread through
contaminated food and water. Diarrhoeal disease is already the second leading
infectious cause of childhood mortality and accounts for a total of approximately
1.8 million deaths each year. (4) Heatwaves, especially in urban “heat islands”, can
directly increase morbidity and mortality, mainly in elderly people with cardiovascular or respiratory disease. Apart from heat waves, higher temperatures can
increase ground-level ozone and hasten the onset of the pollen season, contributing
to asthma attacks. (5) Changing temperatures and patterns of rainfall are expected to
alter the geographical distribution of insect vectors that spread infectious diseases.
Of these diseases, malaria and dengue are of greatest public health concern. In
short, climate change can affect problems that are already huge, largely concentrated in the developing world, and difficult to combat. However, these problems
can be solved through corporate social responsibility in community development.
The magnitude and implications of the nutritional problems call for urgent actions.
Traditional Health Foods Security as Corporate …
553