Health: The Ultimate Treasure
Non-communicable diseases
Learn about diseases like diabetes and asthma, and what they are linked to.
Non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and asthma are linked to lifestyle, diet and/or environment. They are now the most common cause of death in India.
Remember scurvy, anaemia and goitre from Grade 6? They come from a lack of particular nutrients in food, so they are called deficiency diseases. They are non-communicable too: no germ is involved, and you can't catch them from anyone.
Diseases such as cancer, diabetes and asthma often last a long time, more than three months. These are called chronic diseases.
Diabetes is becoming common in adults and children. India now has one of the highest numbers of people with diabetes in the world.
| Diabetes | |
|---|---|
| causes (often together) | hormonal imbalance, unhealthy eating, too little exercise, being overweight or obese |
| signs and symptoms | passing urine often, a lot of thirst, weight loss, tiredness, wounds that heal slowly |
Ask around (Activity 3.5). Talk to a doctor, nurse, health worker or someone in your family who knows, and find the three most common lifestyle diseases in your area, and which changes help prevent or manage them. Two examples: obesity (balanced diet and regular exercise) and high blood pressure.
Kamal Ranadive (1917–2001) was a pioneering Indian cancer researcher. She studied how hormones and certain viruses are linked to cancer, which helped improve its treatment and prevention. Her work also showed how tobacco, diet and pollution raise the risk of cancer, another reason why a healthy lifestyle matters.
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