The food pattern of a person contributes significantly towards the development of certain diseases over time. There are certain foods that may result in the person developing certain diseases, like sweets and other sugary foods, carbonated drinks, and fat.
Several nutrition and health experts are much concerned about the increase in the consumption of sugary sweets and beverages worldwide over the past few years. The regular intake of beverages adds an extra 155 calories to the daily diet. Consumption of high calories is associated with the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. However, the increase in the rate of obesity is not solely due to sugar, but it is also related to physical inactivity and overall poor dietary habits. Thus, creating awareness and campaigning for low intake of sweet and sugary foods and beverages only helps to reduce the incidence of obesity and other health risks.
The risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) include the consumption of saturated and Trans fat. Some of the factors that cannot be changed are age, gender, genetic makeup, and race. People aged 65 years are more vulnerable and prone to CVD. Also, men have greater chances of CVD than women. Race is also an important factor that affects the risk of CVD, for instance, people of African heritage with high blood pressure are prone to a high risk of CVD.
Trans fats are mainly obtained from diets containing hydrogenated fats and exhibit harmful health effects. Highly baked food products are rich in Trans fats. The foods such as pastries, pies, and other oily edibles contain solid fats that make them flaky and crispy. However, solid fat from animals such as butter or lard can be used instead of hydrogenated fats. The hydrogenated fat is cholesterol free and prevents the foods from decomposition and spoilage. Contrary to these advantages of hydrogenated fats, the consumption of trans fats increases the cholesterol levels in the blood and hence, the risk of heart disease.
The risks associated with such detrimental food patterns can be reduced by modifying the lifestyle. These modifications include monitoring and controlling the blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and minimizing smoking and physical inactivity to avoid obesity, diabetes, low thyroid hormone levels, and liver and kidney diseases.
