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Critical Health Concerns in the 21st Century
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Critical Health Concerns in the 21st Century
We live in a century where antibiotic resistance and decrying immunization are the
norms. The population I getting older and more expertise is required to tackle the ever-rising
cases that come with new variants. The latest is the pandemic that has led many medical experts
to dive into more research. More drugs are being tested than ever before. The technology —
ultrasounds, X-ray imaging, and so forth —has proven to be both a blessing and a curse. More
diseases are evolving as lifestyle changes, and the health sector is taking a toll on the fast-paced
changes. Among the climate change, age trends, and nutritional shifts.
Globally it is estimated that by 2050, there will be double the number of 60-year-olds
compared to kids under five. In America alone, the number of adults over 50 is estimated to
double from 25 million to 50 million-plus by 2060. Normally, immunity decrease as age
increases, and that means the larger population will be at risk of exposure to more diseases
(Marcus,2019). More so, the impact of multimorbidity will be worse for older patients with
obesity. Obesity alone is a gateway to other chronic complications that cause pain and suffering
to the host.
Climate change is also a factor that has and still is impacting the health sector directly
and indirectly. The constant rising heat has impacted agriculture in more ways than one; most
areas are affected by drought, and others have erratic rain patterns. The result is a reduced food
supply for the masses and nutritional deficiencies (Parry,2019). To maintain a great immune
system, it is proper that people eat a well-balanced diet. Unfortunately, it is impossible when
most foods in the grocery stores are genetically modified and laced with killer agents in the
ingredients. The result is a society succumbs to diseases including cancer, obesity, diabetes,
malnutrition, kwashiorkor, and high blood pressure.
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Until recently, mental health was not considered a pandemic. It was a disease that was
disregarded and was not worth the attention of the media. For every ten people, at least three
suffer from mental health issues. That is almost a third of the population! This is a scare, given
that there are many variants of mental health diseases (Edwards,2018). Most of them take time to
manifest; others are so subtle that the patient may ignore them for a while before it blows up.
With the increased connectivity, social media is a channel through which more people get
depressed. Constantly scrolling through and seeing life that is better than one is living is not
encouraging at all.
In conclusion, this Century is full of health risks, most of which hang around us. We
come into contact with genetically modified food on the shelves that are cheaper than organic
foods. The opportunity costs seem fair at first until the disease strikes. Climate changes are not
helping the issue, given the constant rise in temperature. Also, the increased pressure to maintain
a good life by working multiple hours a day to meet the cost of living is taking a toll on the
masses. Remedial changes must be implemented to assist the plummeting conditions, such as
planting more trees, subsidizing organic foods, and meditation.
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References
Edwards, C. (2018). Social Media and Mental Health: Handbook for Parents and
Teachers. United Kingdom: Welbeck Publishing Group Limited.
Marcus, J. B. (2019). Aging, Nutrition and Taste: Nutrition, Food Science and Culinary
Perspectives for Aging Tastefully. United Kingdom: Elsevier Science.
Parry, M. L. (2019). Climate Change and World Agriculture. United Kingdom: Taylor &
Francis.
