Address Drinking, Smoking to Raise Life Expectancy: WHO

About one in four premature deaths worldwide can be traced to five preventable health factors — alcohol use, poor childhood nutrition, unsafe sex, bad sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure — according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Reuters reported Oct. 27 that the new Global Health Risks report says that addressing these five preventable causes of death could raise life expectancy by about 5 years.

Overall, the world’s top mortality risks are high-blood pressure, tobacco use, high blood glucose, physical inactivity, and obesity, the WHO said. “Health risks are in transition: populations are aging owing to successes against infectious diseases; at the same time, patterns of physical activity and food, alcohol and tobacco consumption are changing,” the report said. “Understanding the role of these risk factors is important for developing clear and effective strategies for improving global health.”

“The poorest countries still face a high and concentrated burden from poverty, undernutrition, unsafe sex, unsafe water and sanitation,” the report said. “At the same time, dietary risk factors for high blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity, coupled with insufficient physical activity, are responsible for an increasing proportion of the total disease burden.”