Lifestyle ailments sweep East Asia. (Health).GENEVA -- An epidemic epidemic, outbreak of disease that affects a much greater number of people than is usual for the locality or that spreads to regions where it is ordinarily not present. of lifestyle-related diseases--such as diabetes, hear disease, cancer and obesity obesity, condition resulting from excessive storage of fat in the body. Obesity has been defined as a weight more than 20% above what is considered normal according to standard age, height, and weight tables, or by a complex formula known as the body mass index. is sweeping East Asia East Asia A region of Asia coextensive with the Far East. East Asian adj. & n. and the Pacific more rapidly than in other regions, the World Health Organization reported at the conclusion of its five-day regional meeting in Kyoto, Japan. More than 60 percent of deaths in the Western Pacific region are due to lifestyle or noncommunicable diseases, Xinhua News Agency “Xinhua” redirects here. For other uses, see Xinhua (disambiguation). The Xinhua News Agency (Simplified Chinese: 新华社; Traditional Chinese: reported, adding that an estimated 30 million adults in the region suffer from diabetes and that they are being diagnosed at increasingly younger ages. The number of cases is projected to double by 2025, the WHO said, adding that the problem is blamed on rapid transitions in dietary habits and activity patterns in addition to malnutrition malnutrition, insufficiency of one or more nutritional elements necessary for health and well-being. Primary malnutrition is caused by the lack of essential foodstuffs—usually vitamins, minerals, or proteins—in the diet. among children, which is believed to contribute to diabetes in adulthood. More than 100 representatives from 37 countries and territories attended the WHO meeting, with experts urging leaders to adopt new approaches to the problem of lifestyle or noncommunicable diseases, suggesting they launch innovative media campaigns, promote traditional Asian diets and set standards on food provision in schools. |
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