World Health Day dictates a longer and healthier life for all

09 Apr 2013

Sunday, 7 April 2013, was World Health Day and the WHO theme for this year is “high blood pressure”. High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. This killer disease is caused by high salt ingestion and it increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney failures, premature deaths and disabilities.

Researchers estimate that high blood pressure contributes to nearly 9.4 million deaths from cardiovascular disease each year. It is recommended that people timeously measure their blood pressure and know their status. Knowing your blood pressure level is the first step to preventing and controlling hypertension.

The Department of Health is therefore intensely urging every South African to live a healthy and hypertension-free life by abandoning unhealthy practices and habits. Adopt healthy practices and habits to embrace good health and reduce the risk of becoming sick, disabled, and dying prematurely.

When blood pressure stays high over time, it can damage the body. HBP can cause:

The heart to get larger or weaker, which may lead to heart failure. Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
Aneurysms (AN-u-risms) to form in blood vessels. An aneurysm is an abnormal bulge in the wall of an artery. Common spots for aneurysms are the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the body; the arteries in the brain, legs, and intestines; and the artery leading to the spleen.
Blood vessels in the kidneys to narrow. This may cause kidney failure.
Arteries throughout the body to narrow in some places, which limits blood flow (especially to the heart, brain, kidneys, and legs). This can cause a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or amputation of part of the leg.
Blood vessels in the eyes to burst or bleed. This may lead to vision changes or blindness.

President Jacob Zuma, in his State of the Nation Address, highlighted the fact that diseases of lifestyle are on an alarming increase in the country and that we need to combat and lower the levels of smoking, harmful effects of alcohol, poor diets and obesity.

“This is a very serious concern for the Department of Health and government, but it’s acknowledged that many individuals in South Africa are responding positively to our call to change to living a healthy lifestyle,” said the Deputy Minister of Health Dr Gwen Ramokgopa.

Some unhealthy lifestyle habits like smoking are very hard to break, but others like choosing a piece of fresh fruit instead of a bag of sweets or putting less salt on your food are easier and healthier practices to adopt in everyday life. About 60% of the salt consumed by South Africans comes from processed food and people are encouraged to reduce their daily sodium consumption to at least 5g a day.

There are salt laws in South Africa, and the department is embarking on an education campaign to raise awareness of these laws; the dangers of eating too much salt; and the Non-communicable Diseases Strategy that will be launched by the department very soon.

The Deputy Minister added, “start with steps that you can manage easily, and once you had made one small positive change towards a healthier lifestyle, then the bigger changes will be easier. Each of these small steps is a building block towards a healthy lifestyle.”

The Department of Health has developed policies and plans to prevent and control non-communicable diseases. For this reason, the Non-communicable Diseases Strategy was developed and will be launched shortly. The strategy edicts the roll-out of intensified programmes related to advocacy, community mobilisation, health system organisation and delivery, legislation and regulation. Moreover, the salt regulations were pronounced recently and the South African nation is therefore urged to support and adhere to these regulations in order to recoup a healthy nation.

The department will continue to play a role of supplying health information and health education at all health facilities, in the workplace, at schools and tertiary institutions, and in the communities. Therefore it is important that communities and individuals partner with government to fight the scourge that besets our wellbeing.

The following health promotion messages are promoted by the department to address unhealthy habits and encourage people to prevent hypertension.

Physical activity

It is always better to exercise with friends, family or your local community physical activity group, for support and motivation to stay healthy.

Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day for or at least, three to four times a week
Choose a form of exercise that you enjoy
Exercise in groups to gather support and to stay motivated
Start an exercise group in your community
Walk briskly everyday
Walk up stairs instead of taking the lift
Take a walk during lunch breaks and after supper
Play active games
Dance, cycle, swim and jump to stay healthy.

Physical activity provides the following benefits:

Reduces the risk for heart disease and stroke
Helps manage high blood pressure
Helps reduce and control weight
Helps to cope with stress and to release tension
Gives more energy
Improves self-image
Provides a way to share an activity with family and friends
Establishes good heart-healthy habits in children
Counters the conditions like high blood pressure that may lead to a heart attack and stroke, later in life
Helps people to delay and prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging, and helps maintain good quality of life.

Healthy eating