Nutritional Health Risks

By: Kayla Calhoun

Essential Questions

How may lifestyle or nutritional choices lead to a chronic disease?

How does excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption lead to or exacerbate chronic diseases, weaken bones, cause cancer, and damage the digestive tract?

How does tobacco affect appetite?

Obesity

Possible nutritional causes: Caloric energy imbalance (eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activity). 

Symptoms:– An adult who has a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is

considered overweight. – An adult who has a BMI of 30 or higher is considered

obese. Prevention/treatment:

– Increase physical activity.– Decrease caloric intake, especially empty calories like

alcohol.

Hypertension

Or, high blood pressure: Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

Hypertension, continued

Possible nutritional causes: too much sodium, too little vitamin D and potassium, obesity.

Symptoms: – Dull headaches– Dizzy spells– More nosebleeds than normal– This disease may be invisible for years, so it is important

to have regular check-ups.

Hypertension, continued

Prevention/treatment: eat a healthier diet with less salt (DASH diet), exercise more, avoid smoking, and lose weight.

Effects of alcohol and tobacco:– Heavy drinking can gradually damage the heart. Consuming

more than two or three drinks at one time can temporarily raise your blood pressure, as it may cause the body to release hormones that increase blood flow and heart rate.

– Tobacco immediately raises your blood pressure temporarily, and the chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of your artery walls. This can cause arteries to narrow, increasing blood pressure.

Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is less common and associated with a total lack of insulin resulting from the destruction of the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas by the immune system. Both genetic and environmental factors may cause this disease.

Diabetes, continued

Type 2 diabetes is more common worldwide. The body’s failure to respond to insulin in the normal way leads to the overproduction of insulin, which may result in a partial failure of the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas and consequently insufficient insulin production. – Possible nutritional causes: obesity, especially

when excess fat is stored in the abdomen, and excess sugar intake.

Diabetes, continued

Symptoms: blindness, kidney failure, amputation, infections, coronary heart disease, and stroke.

Prevention/treatment:– Avoid gaining more than 10 pounds. as an adult.– Maintain a Body Mass Index (BMI) in the range of 21-23. – Voluntary weight loss in overweight or obese people with

higher than normal blood sugar levels. – Engage in at least a moderate level of physical activity for at

least one hour a few days a week. – Ensure a low saturated fat intake. – Eat at least 20g of fiber per day, such as whole grain

cereals and certain fruits and vegetables. Effects of alcohol and tobacco: can accelerate

development

Cardiovascular Disease

Possible nutritional causes: saturated fats, high cholesterol

Symptoms: high cholesterol levels, stroke, heart attack

Prevention/treatment: – Replace saturated fats with

polyunsaturated fats like fish and nuts.

– Eat more fiber to decrease cholesterol in the blood.

– Restrict salt intake to less than 5 g/day.

– Eat fish 1-2 times per week.– Exercise at a moderate level for 30

minutes per day.

Cardiovascular Disease, continued

Effects of alcohol and tobacco:– Tobacco increases risk of heart disease by 2 to

4 times and stroke by 2 to 4 times.– Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation

by narrowing the blood vessels, which can exacerbate cholesterol blockage issues.

Cancer

Possible nutritional causes: obesity, dietary factors account

for 30% of cancers in industrialized countries. Symptoms (not comprehensive):

– Persistent cough or blood-tinged saliva. – Change in bowel habits.– Bloody stool or urine.– Unexplained anemia.– Persistent lumps or swollen glands.– Obvious change in a wart or mole.– Non-healing sores.

Cancer, continued

Prevention/treatment:– Avoid gaining more than 10 pounds as an adult.– Maintain a Body Mass Index (BMI) in the range of 21-23. – Exercise regularly.– Limit alcohol consumption to zero-two glasses of either beer,

wine or spirits per day. – Limit consumption of salt-preserved foods, preserved meats

(such as sausages, salami, bacon, ham) and salt. – Avoid eating foods contaminated by aflatoxin.– Eat at least 400 g of fruits and vegetables per day.

Cancer, continued

Effects of alcohol and tobacco:– Increases risk of men developing lung cancer by 23 times;

women by 13 times.– Tobacco in all forms can lead to mouth cancer, which can

impair food intake, leading to nutritional problems.– Alcohol consumption raises the risk of several cancers,

including mouth, breast, liver, and throat by acting as an inflammatory irritant, and also slows down cell’s ability to repair damage done by tobacco.

Osteoporosis

Possible nutritional causes: calcium and vitamin D deficiencies

Symptoms: – low bone mass and

deterioration of bone tissue, which leads to fragile bones and a greater risk of fracture, particularly in older people.

Osteoporosis, continued

Prevention/treatment: – Eat at least 400-500 mg of calcium per day, such

as dairy products or certain green vegetables like broccoli.

– Eat at least 5-10 mg of vitamin D per day.– Increase physical activity, focusing on building

muscle strength.– Reduce sodium intake.– Avoid smoking.– Limit alcohol consumption.

Osteoporosis, continued

Effects of alcohol and tobacco: – Post-menopausal women who drink heavily

increase their risk for osteoporosis, due to calcium deficiencies related to poor nutrition.

– Post-menopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked.

Liver and Pancreas Diseases

Liver disease: The liver, which detoxifies harmful substances, becomes overloaded with increased alcohol use and is unable to function adequately. While fatty liver and hepatitis are reversible when drinking is eliminated, cirrhosis is not. Permanent liver disease in alcoholics is directly related to nutritional deficiencies in the diet.

Liver and Pancreas Diseases

The pancreas is also unable to regulate blood sugar and fat adequately with the use of large amounts of alcohol, and an imbalance of fluids, calories and electrolytes occurs resulting from impairment of both the liver and pancreas simultaneously.

Tobacco and Weight

Some smokers use tobacco as an appetite suppressant to lose weight.

The nicotine in cigarettes raises the “metabolic rate” of smokers, which increases the amount of calories used.

This results in the heart beating 10-20 more times per minute after a cigarette, which is one reason for the high rate of heart disease in smokers.

There are several healthy options to lose weight without smoking, and even to prevent weight gain after quitting smoking.

Sources

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/diet-nutrition/l-2/3-childhood-eating-habits.htm

http://www.ehow.com/about_5317362_alcohol-abuse-nutrition.html http://www.cdc.gov http://www.smokefree.gov/pubs/FFree3.pdf http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancer.html#cat11 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancer.html#cat11