Diseases of affluence are those diseases which are thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society. They are thought to include diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, allergies, autoimmune diseases, asthma, alcoholism, depression and possibly a range or majority of other psychiatric illnesses. Wealth usually refers to money and property. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... There are different forms of heart disease: Coronary heart disease Ischaemic heart disease Cardiovascular disease The study of heart disease is Cardiology This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... When normal cells are damaged or old they undergo apoptosis; cancer cells, however, avoid apoptosis. ... Arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure is chronically elevated. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. ... Polish propaganda poster saying: Stop drinking! Come with us and build a happy tomorrow. ... Look up Depression on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Depression may refer to one of the following: Clinical depression, a medical condition which includes decreased interest in pleasurable activities Depression (mood), an everyday term for a sad mood Depression (geology), a sunken or depressed geological formation Depression (economics) is a more...

Communicable vs. non-communicable diseases

Some of these illnesses are inter-related, for example obesity is thought to be a partial cause of many other illnesses. They are characterised as being non-communicable diseases, whereas the diseases of poverty tend to be largely communicable either through infection, poor public or environmental health provision, or poor hygiene.

The trend is for these diseases to become more prevalent as starvation and diseases of poverty decline, and as longevity increases. Policy makers are sometimes criticised on sociological grounds for failing to deal with the fact that development could be seen as self-defeating if it means exchanging one set of diseases for another.

Possible causes of the diseases of affluence

Factors associated with the increase of these illnesses appear to be, paradoxically, things which many people would regard as improvements in their lives. They include:

• Increased use of the car
• Less strenuous physical exercise
• Easy accessibility in society to large amounts of low-cost food (relative to the much-lower caloric food availability in a subsistence economy)
  • More food generally, with much less physical exertion expended to obtain a moderate amount of food
  • More high fat and high sugar foods in the diet are common in the affluent developed economies of the late-twentieth century
  • More foods which are processed, cooked, and commercially provided (rather than seasonal, fresh foods prepared locally at time of eating)[1]
• Reduced exposure to infectious agents throughout life
• Increased leisure time
• Prolonged periods of inactivity
• Greater use of alcohol and tobacco
• Greater use of antibiotics and vaccines

A subsistence economy is an economy in which a group obtains the necessities of life through self-provisioning. ...

See also

Health

Exercise The word exercise can mean the following: A setting in action or practicing. ...

Nutrition Nutrition is the study of the relationship between diet and states of health and disease. ...

Guardian article on fast food and obesity

China project The China Project is an ongoing extensive study of the correlation of disease epidemiology with the increasing urbanisation of the many provinces of China, and with the changes in eating patterns and lifestyles which this Westernisation is bringing. ...

Urbanisation Urbanization is the degree of or increase in urban character or nature. ...

Westernization Westernisation is a process whereby traditional, long-established societies come under the influence of Western (European or American) culture in such matters as industry, technology, economics, lifestyle, food and moral and cultural values. ...

External links

China project

A critical view of development