JOIN USIt is not uncommon to see men in their early 30s popping pills for the lifestyle diseases that they have fallen prey to.
Leading a sedentary life and gorging on fast foods like pizzas and burgers have made young men more vulnerable to lifestyle ailments like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high uric acid and cardio-
vascular diseases.
Doctors point out that earlier, such diseases used to hit men between the ages of 35 and 40. However today, men who are in their late 20s show symptoms of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Dr Chandil Kumar Gunashekhara, a general physician, says that it is very important for one to engage in some physical activity. He advises working professionals to exercise for 30 to 40 minutes at least four times a week. “Dyslipidimia or dysfunction of the lipid profile is very common today among young men.
We have patients as young as 23 years with high cholesterol. What happens in such cases is that the HDL, which is the good cholesterol, decreases and the LDL and VLDL (bad cholesterol) increase. Young men have to be very careful of their sugar levels as high cholesterol and diabetes are very common among them today,” he advises.
Dietary regulations play an important role in preventing lifestyle diseases but it is equally important to follow a normal routine during the day. Staying up late in the nights and working in the American shift increase the risk of lifestyle diseases. Dr Arpan Dev Bhattacharya, the HOD and consultant diabetes and endocrinologist, Manipal Hospitals, says that it is very easy to advise patients to stick to a normal lifestyle and stop eating fast food.
“But if a professional comes back home late in the night tired and hungry, the only other option he or she has is to order a takeaway. I always advise people to regulate their lives keeping in mind the limitations that they face. Exercising during weekends and consuming items which don’t have saturated fat can help. People with high cholesterol should avoid coconut, ‘ghee’, butter and egg yolk. Small fish are better to consume than big ones,” he suggests.
Young professionals say that they face tremendous pressures in the corporate world and their diet undergoes a major change once they start working. “As students, we don’t face much pressure and don’t have access to a lot of money. We eat at home and have a decent lifestyle.
But as soon as we start working, our food habits change and we start eating a lot of junk and drinking fizzy beverages and alcohol. Also, the pressure at work leads to these diseases. As I don’t have the time to work out, I try to avoid junk food though I get tempted to eat it often,” sums up Sunil, a young professional.