Lifestyle diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, asthma, diabetes and hypertension are now the country’s number one killer, claiming 718 people a day and causing more deaths in SA than HIV and TB.
This was said by Professor Andre Pascal Kengne, of the SA Medical Research Council, on Monday.
He said SA had failed to significantly reduce the risk of death from lifestyle diseases.
Kengne is the unit director at the council’s research unit for non-communicable diseases.
“It is time we wake up to this cold fact that we need to address the risk factors that contribute to all non-communicable diseases as they are fast becoming the leading cause of death, now accounting for more than HIV and TB,” Kengne said.
Despite regulations to reduce salt in food and the use of tobacco products, 260,000 deaths were still associated with non-communicable diseases in 2016 alone, he said.
The country might have to speed up its implementation of the World Health Organisation’s strategy to deal with lifestyle diseases.
These included vaccinating girls to prevent cervical cancer, educating people about the risk of lifestyle diseases, and effectively implementing and regulating the recently introduced sugar taxes.
Kengne said SA should also address the socioeconomic circumstances that made it difficult for people to eat healthily and to resist the marketing of alcohol and tobacco products, or for its citizens to engage in physical activity.
A WHO report aimed at describing a possible scenario for 2030 said SA was one of the countries that could fail to reach the United Nation’s goal to reduce lifestyle disease.
Kengne said the four major lifestyle diseases – cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and strokes), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes – shared common risk factors, including tobacco use, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diet.
“Development, industrialisation, urbanisation and ageing are also the major drivers of this epidemic in South Africa.
“A greater focus on political will and regulation of the way in which products such as tobacco and alcohol are promoted has to be monitored in South Africa, where 718 people die every day of lifestyle diseases,” he said.