Obesity is one of the major risk factors for developing diabetes. Second, obesity and diabetes are both major modifiable risk factors that can lead to CVD. Again, diabetes is associated with increased cancer risk.

All four of these symptoms are primarily caused by diet and other lifestyle factors. In 1998, the WHO warned that the fight against disease in the 21st century would have to be fought simultaneously on two major fronts, one of which was the fight against non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. It is. lifestyle” conditions.

The increasing trend of these lifestyle-related diseases is evident in reports published by the WHO and independent studies.

The prevalence of obesity nearly doubled between 1980 and 2008, according to a report published in The Lancet. The number of obese men increased from 4.8% to 9.8%, and the number of women increased from 7.9% to 13.8%.

Almost a decade later, the same journal published a study showing a continuing upward trend in overweight and obesity among adults and children.

From 1975 to 2016, the prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years increased more than fourfold from 4% to 18% worldwide.

According to scientific reports, the proportion of overweight or obese adults worldwide increased from 28.8% to 36.9% for men and from 29.8% to 38.0% for women between 1980 and 2013.

The prevalence of overweight or obesity among children and adolescents in developed countries in 2013 was also recorded at 23.8% for boys and 22.6% for girls, significantly higher than the previous year.

The prevalence of diabetes, as well as obesity and overweight, has steadily increased over the past few decades. Notably, the majority of people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries.

According to the WHO, as of today, more than 420 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the disease causes 1.5 million deaths each year.

This number is much higher than the WHO’s 1998 predictions. The estimated number of adults with diabetes is predicted to increase from 143 million in 1997 to 300 million in 2025.

Previous predictions and current prevalence did not help prevent the prevalence of diabetes. On the contrary, predictions of future epidemics sound rather alarming. From 2025 to 2060, the prevalence of diabetes in the United States is projected to increase by 39.3%.

Obesity is also predicted to increase by 8.3%. At the same time, the prevalence of ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and myocardial infarction are similarly projected to increase by 31.1%, 33.0%, and 30.1%, respectively, from 2025 to 2060.

Morbidity and mortality from cancer are no different from other non-communicable diseases.

According to a 1998 WHO report, cancer will continue to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This has also been proven to be true.

According to the journal BMJ Oncology, between 1990 and 2019, the global incidence of early-onset cancer increased by 79.1%, and the number of deaths from early-onset cancer increased by 27.7%. In 2020, 18,094,716 million cases of cancer were diagnosed worldwide.

Rather, it is more alarming to hear the cancer risk predictions made by Professor Shuji Ogino of the Harvard Chan School and Harvard Medical School.

Professor Shuji pointed out that the risk of developing cancer increases with each generation. For example, a person born in 1960 experienced a higher risk of cancer by age 50 than someone born in 1950. He predicts that risk levels will continue to rise with each generation.

Focusing on Malaysia, the rising trend of non-communicable lifestyle-related diseases poses a dire scenario.

The proportion of adult men living with overweight and obesity increased from approximately 30% to more than 50% from 1993 to 2019.

The WHO estimates that by 2030, the total number of diabetes patients in Malaysia will be 2.48 million, an increase of 164% compared to 940,000 in 2000.

On World Cancer Day (4 February 2023), cancer researchers estimated that around one in 10 people in Malaysia will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

In 2020, fewer than 50,000 cancer cases were reported in Malaysia, and fewer than 30,000 people died from cancer out of a population of over 32 million at the time.

Taken together, these reports indicate not only the prevalence of these lifestyle-related diseases, but also the predicted increase in lifestyle-related diseases over the years. This raises two related questions. Why haven’t we been able to prevent the predicted rise in these diseases? And can we stop the prophecy from coming true?

This issue requires attention because our future generations are at risk of falling into often irreversible and fatal conditions.

Needless to say, we have proven our capabilities in medical biotechnology, allowing us to produce new vaccines in a matter of months and vaccinate the world’s population in the shortest time ever. Here I am referring to our success story in the fight against COVID-19.

In fact, developing a vaccine and administering it to people around the world is different from preventing lifestyle-related diseases, which requires the utmost awareness of individuals.

However, at the policy level, there is still much that can be done to curb the rising trend of lifestyle-related diseases.

The author is Associate Dean (Continuing Education) of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya and an Associate Member of UM LEAD.