People are seeking different approaches and models in their personal lives, not only to deal with aging, but also rising chronic and lifestyle diseases, alongside increasing stress and mental health issues. Global statistics in these areas are alarming.
Lifestyle and environmental disease. Over the last 50 years, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have replaced communicable/infectious diseases as the leading causes of death globally. NCDs (including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, etc.) are collectively responsible for 71% of deaths worldwide,and they account for more than one-half the global burden of disease.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), World Economic Forum, United Nations, Council on Foreign Relations, and others, NCDs represent one of the greatest future challenges to global health. And yet, at least 80% of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, as well as 40% of cancers, could be prevented by addressing key risk factors. Consumers are becoming aware that they can reduce risks through physical activity, healthy diets, moderated use of tobacco and alcohol, lower levels of stress, and healthier lifestyles overall. Meanwhile, scientists are only beginning to understand how environmental hazards (such as toxins, molds, pesticides, plastics, and other environmental substances) – along with socioeconomic, community, and social environment factors – contribute to NCDs and other health risks.
Loneliness and mental health. The last 5-10 years have brought growing awareness of a mounting global mental health crisis, alongside the rising burden of physical disease. In 2017, there were an estimated 1.1 billion cases reported worldwide of mental and substance use disorders (affecting around 15% of the world’s population) – and since mental disorders are widely underreported, the prevalence may be even higher. According to the WHO, depression increased by more than 18% from 2005-2015, and it is the leading global cause of illness and disability. More than 70% of people with mental illness do not seek treatment, often due to stigma and misunderstanding.
Policymakers and physicians in developed countries are also worried about the rise of loneliness and isolation as a public health epidemic. A recent cross-country survey found that 9% of adults in Japan, 22% in the United States, and 23% in the United Kingdom report always or often feeling lonely or socially isolated.Loneliness is closely linked with physical and mental illness and has significant health impacts – in fact, its impact on lifespan is similar to smoking 15 cigarettes per day and greater than that of obesity, and it is associated with a greater risk of heart disease, depression, anxiety, dementia, and premature death. The growing visibility of mental health/illness and its gradual de-stigmatization have opened the door to people seeking help through wellness modalities such as meditation, mindfulness, and yoga.
Globally, the population aged 60 and over is growing faster than all younger age groups. By 2020, adults over age 65 will outnumber children under age 5, and by 2050 all regions of the world except Africa will have nearly a quarter or more of their populations at age 60 and above. With aging populations comes the rise of chronic disease, as well as risk of the risk of loneliness as seniors lose mobility and independence. Social isolation is particularly detrimental for seniors at a phase of their lives when they need more medical care, social services, friends, and hobbies than ever, and is linked with cognitive decline, poor physical and mental health, and higher risk of death.
According to the United Nations, “population ageing…is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society.”For individuals, the important question is no longer about increasing lifespan but how to maximize healthy lifespan (compression of morbidity).
Around the world, people’s happiness and wellbeing have been affected by deteriorating health, the spread of loneliness and mental illness, and the ramifications of aging. Holistic Wellness provides people with new insights, approaches, and tools to address these challenges.
(Thanks to Global Wellness Institute for this contribution)
“I have often found myself with a goodbye to make, a suitcase to prepare, a radical change to deal with and a new dimension to find. Managing changes in work, life and prospects have led me to my most authentic metamorphosis: to make a profession of the travel experience.