World Health Day: highlighting blood pressure

Image Source: Better Health Channel Victoria

World Health Day, marking the establishment of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is celebrated on 7 April each year. It was on this day that the WHO was established in 1948. To mark World Health Day, the WHO nominates a priority area of global public health as the theme for World Health Day: this year the theme is controlling high blood pressure. According to WHO, high blood pressure (also called hypertension) affects more than one in three adults worldwide. Complications from high blood pressure—including heart attack and stroke—account for more than 9 million deaths worldwide every year.

Australians eat poorly, are overweight and unfit: but it’s not all bad news

Image: City of Tea Tree Gully

The Australian Health Survey, a regular survey of Australia's health, shows that most Australian adults have a poor diet, are either overweight or obese and don’t get enough exercise. These unhealthy habits put us at greater risk of a range of adverse health outcomes including the development of serious diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

The first results, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 29 October 2012, cover health status, health risk factors and long term health conditions. Results to be released later will cover health service use, more detailed information on dietary intake, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, biomedical health measures, and representative results for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

Unhealthy habits on the rise

Image source: WA Department of Health 

Some of the key risk factors for a number of life threatening diseases have increased in prevalence in Australia over the last decade according to a recent report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The report, Risk factor trends: age patterns in key health risk factors over time, found that over the period, the proportion of people diagnosed with life threatening conditions including diabetes and chronic kidney disease had increased.

Sitting comfortably? How sitting is affecting our health

Image: Department of Immigration

A growing body of evidence is pointing to the health risks associated with sedentary behaviours, and in particular risks associated with prolonged periods of sitting, independent of other physical activities.