PREVALENCE OF LIFESTYLE DISEASES: COMPARISON WITH RESPECT TO GENDER, LOCALE, AGE AND LIFESTYLE

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to analyse the prevalence of lifestyle disease among people wit h respect to locale, gender, type of food, physical activity and age group. The participants of the study were between the age of 20 to 94 (N = 200) from various regions of Palakkad district, Kerala during the year 2015. The direct personal interview method was used to collect data from the participants. The demographic and response data were analysed by using frequencies and percentages. The result shows that, incidence of lifestyle disease in rural area was 33.85% and in urban area was 37.14%; among male participants the incidence was 35.87 % and among females it was 31.48 %, In the case of vegetarians the percentage of incidence of lifestyle disease was 28% and among non vegetarians it was 36.67%; among physically active participants the incidence was 9% and among sedentary participants it was 62%. In age wise categorization, in the age group of 20 to 40 years the incidence was 9.76%, in the age of 40 to 60 years it was 38.46%, and in the age of 60 and above it was 72.5%. The study having demonstrated a high prevalence of lifestyle diseases and their risk factor warrants serious consideration for development and implementation of relevant health promotion and intervention programmes that will improve the general health and reduce the risk factors.