YOUTH AND HEALTH   YOUR LIFESTYLE AS IT AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH   HEALTH:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization Constitution).

LIFESTYLE: “The way in which a person or group of people lives and works”.
 (Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary) Going into specifics, this will include:

-Work habits
- Use of leisure time, recreation
-Eating habits
-Social relationships
- Attitude of life, priorities, value system e.t.c.

 The word of God holds the key, not only to spiritual well being physical and mental health as well. “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the disease I brought on the Egyptians for I am the Lord, who heals you”. (Exodus 15:26, NIV) “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones”. (Proverbs 3:7-8, NIV)   Diet and Exercise (Prov. 23:20; I Tim. 4:8)   “…About one billion people across the world are now overweight or obese, leading to fears that obesity will overtake smoking tobacco a the leading lifestyle risk factor for two chronic ailments, heart disease and stroke. These ailments claims up to 17 million lives worldwide annually (one in three of all deaths)… …” “…According to the International Obesity Taskforce, severe obesity is associated with a twelve-fold increase on mortality in 25-35 year olds when compared to thin individuals…The world Heart day was marked this year on Sunday, September 29, with the theme, “A heart for life”. The emphasis, according to the president of the Nigerian Heart Foundation, Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe, is on increased physical activity and maintaining a healthy diet among others… …” (Saturday Punch, October 5, 2002, Pg.33, 39)   Diet/Exercise in relation to Heart disease and stroke At birth, the arteries are clean, open and elastic but early in life the process of artery-clogging, know as atherosclerosis begins. Over time, fatty streaks form in the walls of the arteries. They are gradually transformed into plaques (autheromas) that bulge into the artery opening, partly choking of blood flow. If one of this plaques breaks down, the clotting mechanism may be triggered. The clot if present in the blood vessels supplying the heart (coronary arteries) may result in:   1.                  Severe chest pain due to reduced oxygen to the heart – Angina Pectoris   2.                  Very severe chest pain due to occlusion of the blood, commonly associated with obesity, are also linked to hypertension (a major risk factor for heart disease and strokes too). This may lead to sudden death.  

If a blood vessel to the brain is closed off by a clot or ruptures, stroke results. Diet is a major determinant of how quickly and how severely the arteries get clogged up. High concentrations of cholesterols and fats in the blood, commonly associated with obesity, are also linked to hypertension (a major risk factor for heart disease and strokes too). ***Some studies point out that people who are less active and less fit have a 30% - 50% greater risk for High blood pressure.   Diabetes and Diet/Exercise             Diabetes is essentially too much sugar in the blood. This happens when the pancreas produces either no insulin or insufficient on ineffective insulin, the hormone that stimulates cells to absorb and store glucose. If the insulin present cannot handle glucose, blood glucose levels rise abnormally causing much havoc including excessive urination and thirst, fatigue, cardiovascular and kidney damage, blindness, nerve disease, amputation etc.            

 There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is more severe but less common and affects children and young adults usually under age 35. Type 2 diabetes (Adults – onset diabetes) accounts for 90% of all cases and usually develops after age 40.            
The development of diabetes is complex and ill understood. The current concepts is that some people are born with a vulnerability to diabetes but environmental factors interact with genetic susceptibility to determine which of those with this genetic predisposition actually develops the clinical syndrome as well as the timing of the onset. Diet and exercise are the most important associated lifestyle factors. ***A recent study found that 60% of type 2 diabetes are attributed to overweight and obesity and when considered with lack of exercise, about 85% of all type 2 diabetes could be explained.       
        Excessive fat in the diet, especially saturated animal fat, seems to damage insulin’s effectiveness, and as a result the cells become sluggish and inefficient in responding to insulin’s instructions to take up glucose from the blood. This is known as Insulin resistance, the hallmark of Type 2 diabetes. ***Studies have shown that being obese, as well as eating lots of fats (mostly animal fat) even in normal weight individuals, decrease insulin efficiency, increase insulin resistance and boost their vulnerability to diabetes.   -                      Intake of saturated fat should be restricted. Sources of saturated animal fat include meat fat (e.g. beef, pork), poultry skin, whole milk, cheese, and butter among others. You should get no more than 10% of your calories from saturated animal-type fat. -                      High cholesterol foods like egg may be taken but intake should be restricted, particularly egg yolk in which cholesterol is concentrated. Generally, Health authorities suggest a limit of 300mg cholesterol a day (about 4 egg yolks a week) Think about this   “The Lord said to Moses, say to the Israelites: Do not eat any fat of cattle, sheep or goats… … anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which an offering by fire may be made to the Lord must be cut off from his people” (Leviticus 7:22, 23, 25 NIV)       God specifically forbade the eating of the most fatty portions of the otherwise lean animals found in Palestine. This must have provided some protection for his people against Health disease, strokes and Diabetes!   Exercise and Weight control   Diet alone is not effective in weight control. This is because the body senses that it is undergoing a time of starvation, so it begins to conserve energy by slowing down its metabolic rate i.e. you may have been eating fewer calories but your body had compensated by burning fewer calories. However when you exercise, you force your body to burn up more calories by increasing its metabolic rate. ALCOHOL (Prov. 20:1)   Moderate alcohol consumption (maximum of 2 drinks a day), has bee shown to have some protective effect against heart disease and this is more notable with wine than with beer and distilled spirits. Paradoxically in heavier doses, it is a veritable heart poison capable of inducing severe heart damage and sudden death, not to talk of the long list of other diseases and social problems linked to alcoholism. Looking at just how easy it is to control consumption, (ask alcoholics!) it is not difficult to see that the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits and even researches are quick to advise non-drinkers not to take up drinking as a means of preventing cardiovascular disease. Excess alcohol intake has been linked to an array of illnesses throughout the body such as Hypertension, Heart disease, liver cirrhosis, cancer of the liver and oesophagus, ulcers, convulsive disorders, brain damage and insanity, depression among others. Associated social problems of crime, marital disharmony, delinquency, inefficiency at work, unemployment etc. are also worthy of note.   SMOKING (I Cor. 10:13)             A medically beneficial effect of smoking is yet to be discovered! Smokers are particularly susceptible to the following:

• Cardiovascular disease – Hypertension, coronary artery disease, strokes, aortic aneurysms.
• Lung disease – Pneumonia, influenza, chronic bronchitis, emphysema.
• Gastrointestinal disease – Ulcer of the stomach and duodenum.
• Cancers – of the lung, larynx, month, oesophagus, bladder and pancreas.

***Scientists have identified in tobacco smoke over 42 different chemicals that can cause cancer when injected into animals. In effect, a smoker unwittingly converts his lungs and body into a veritable toxic-waste dump, rivaling anything created by chemical and agro-allied companies!   STRESS Stress can be defined as extreme conflict in the form of physiological or emotional arousement being experienced by a person, and which poses a threat to the person involved. When prolonged, stress can give rise to severe consequences.   Causes of Stress (1)               Personal stressors: These result from sudden changes in one’s life circumstance e.g. death of a spouse, close relative or friend, losing one’s job, severe illness etc. (2)                 (3)               Background (Environmental) stressors: These are factors in a person’s physical or social              Environment that produces persistent feelings of tension.   Example include:- -          Living in a crime – ridden neighbourhood or a hostile metropolis. -          Struggling to keep up with academics. -          Job dissatisfaction, which may be due to poor working, conditions, poor working environment etc. -          Managerial/administrative problems in relation to people who have responsibility for others. -            (4)               Personality (Type A Vs Type B) Type A personality: - Characterized by: -                      High levels of impatience/hurry sickness -                      Extremes in competition -                      Constant striving for control and success -                      Tendency to use other people to achieve personal goals -                      Inner hostility and frustration Type B personality: -                      Tend to be more relaxed -                      Less concerned about time -                      Less aggressive   Reaction to stress (Stress Response).             The body reacts to stress, resulting in a wide variety of effects, many which are due to an outpouring of adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress – related hormones. Known as the “fight or flight response”, this reaction was originally designed to be beneficial e.g. on confronting a wild animal or hostile warrior: (1)               Heat rate and Blood pressure rises to increase blood flow to the brain and to improve decision-making. (2)               Blood sugar rises to furnish more fuel for energy as a result of the breakdown of glycogen, fat and protein stores. (3)               Blood is shunted away from the gut, where it is not immediately needed for purpose of digestion, to the large muscles of the arms and legs to provide more strength to combat or greater speed in getting away from the scene of potential peril. (4)               Clotting occurs more quickly to prevent blood loss from lacerations or internal hemorrhage. These and many other immediate and automatic responses were meant to be life saving measures. However, the nature of stress for modern man is not just an occasional confrontation with a saber – toothed tiger but rather a host of emotional threats like getting stuck in traffic, quarrels with customers, co-workers, or family members, which often occur several times a day. Unfortunately, our bodies still react with these same fight or flight responses.   Repeatedly invoked, it is not hard to see how they can contribute to Hypertension, Stroke, Heart attacks, Diabetes, ulcers, neck/lo back pain and other “Diseases of civilization”   Some Stress-related Diseases *Hypertension:             Only 5-10% of hypertensive cases is solely due to physiological cause and this is know as Secondary hypertension. The vast majority categorized as Essential Hypertension result from interaction of both physiological and psychological factors.   Physiological factors in Essential Hypertension -                      Familial predisposition. -                      Dysfunction in innate B.P. regulatory mechanisms. -                      High Salt diets. Psychological factors in Essential Hypertension -                      Constant environmental danger. -                      Chronic feelings of anger. -                      Unexpressed need for power. -                      Personal stressors like job loss etc. -                        ***Kasl and Cobb (1970) conducted a study in which they found that B.P of some unemployed men had begun to rise two months before they were actually fired or laid off, and it remained until they found new jobs. These investigators found no increase in B.P among control subjects who remained employed during the same period of time. Coronary Artery Disease: In addition to physiological factors (discussed earlier), some psychological factors are also important in the development of coronary artery disease. Chiefs among them are: -                Type A personality -                Job Stress   ***Friedman and Rosenman (1974) investigated over 3000 healthy men in their 40s and 50s, grouped them into type A and B personalities. Their health was followed up over the next eight years; physiological factors such as cholesterol level were controlled for. Result of the study showed that the number of A’s that developed coronary artery disease was more than twice the type B’s. ***In another study doctors injected dye into their patient’s coronary and then tool x-rays of these arteries. Type A patient made up an outstanding 82% of those patients with arteries that were over three-quarters clogged! ***A recent Japanese study found that middle-aged and older Japanese women who reported high levels of stress were 2.24 time more likely to suffer a stroke and 1.64 times more likely to die of a heart attack. In this study those women with higher stress levels were younger, more educated, and thinner than the other women, yet they suffered from higher rates of high blood pressure and diabetes. They also smoked more and were more likely to work full time. While the study focused largely on women it also found that stressed-out men were 1.74 time more likely to die of heart disease than other men.                   Diabetes:          As pointed out earlier, stress hormones cause a spike in blood sugar levels indicating that stress may have a direct bearing on the control of blood sugar in diabetics.   ***New research showed that diabetics who took stress management classes had significant improvement in the control of blood glucose compared to control subjects.          Some other stress-related diseases include the following:-   -                      Chronic headaches (migraine headaches, tension headaches). -                      Peptic ulcer -                      Asthma -                      Low back pain -                      Rheumatoid arthritis etc.   STRESS MANAGEMENT   A number of stress management techniques have been proposed and are being employed by psychologists and stress experts. However, none can compare with the numerous admonitions ingrained in the word of God. The bible contains all that is needed for overcoming these harmful, stress provoking emotions, cultivating good social relationships as well as philosophy of life that truly liberates us from the bondage    of stress. Below are some examples of these passages of scripture:                           (1)        Anger, Hostility                                  Eccl. 7:9; Prov. 16; 32; Col. 3:12,13                         (2)        Hurry and Impatience:                        Prov 19:2; Psalm 37:7; Psalm 27:13.                         (3)        Overwork:                                           Gen 2:1-3; Ex. 18:13-18; Mark 6:31.                         (4)        Worry and anxiety                              Matt. 6:31-33; Phil. 4:6,7; Rom. 8:28 (5)        Fear:                                                   Psalm 27:1; Psalm 46:1,2; Psalm 56. (6)        Competitiveness/ strife for control/ selfish use of other people: Prov. 23:4; Matt. 20:25-28; Rom 12:3, 16; Phil. 2:3,4.   References:   1.      S.I McMillen: None of These Diseases (Marshall Morgan and Scott, 1984) 2.      Jean Carper: Food your miracle medicine (Harper Collins, 1993) 3.      Frank B. Hu et al: how to cut your type 2 diabetes risk 90%; Health Scout news, September 12, 2002. (www.drkoop.com) 4.      Atoba M.A, Olubuyide I.O: Risk and social factors in Nigeria patients with Dyspepsia, Nigerian Medical Journal Vol. 19 No 1, 1989. 5.      David show et al: Stress linked to heart deaths in women. Health scout news, August 12, 2002 (www.drkoop.com); Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, August 13, 2002. 6.      Richard Surwit: Managing stress keeps Type 2 diabetes in check. Health Scout news, January 4, 2002 (www.drkoop.com). 7.      www.lowbackpain.com.