We’re dying of excess rather than privation

The number of people worldwide whose deaths were tied to avoidable health risks such as high blood pressure and smoking increased by almost 23 percent between 1990 and 2013, according to a story by Joshua Melvin for Agence France Presse quoting new research.

Research results published in The Lancet indicated that a range of 79 health risks contributed to 30.8 million deaths in 2013, 5.7 million more than in 1990, even when population growth and ageing were taken into account.

It seems that since 1990 the most dangerous factors have changed significantly: from causes rooted in privation to those stemming from excess.

“To put it in plain English, we are behaving badly,” study co-author Ali Mokdad, of the University of Washington, was quoted as saying.

The research results were said to have been based on a wide range of data including that from World Health Organization and World Bank reports, and that provided by about 1,000 partner scientists based in more than 100 countries.

High blood pressure, which is easily diagnosed and readily treated, was the top risk in 2013, contributing to 10.4 million deaths in the 188 countries studied.

For men, smoking was the second risk factor after high blood pressure, but for women smoking was the sixth risk factor.

The full story is at: http://news.yahoo.com/salt-sex-booze-lifestyle-killers-rise-231555187.html.