First the good news: There is an increase in the number of health screenings for young people as compared to previous years. And now for the bad news: This trend has brought to light the fact that more young individuals in the UAE are prone to hypertension.
And why is this so? Because young individuals are leading a sedentary life and indulging in unhealthy food choices. There is nothing in this diagnosis that comes as a surprise, but that does not obviate the need to pay urgent attention to this problem. The prevalence of high blood pressure in the middle age and older demographics is already a decelerator in the progress towards the national goals of health and societal welfare. The emergence of new numbers from the younger population can only exacerbate the problem.
Uncontrolled hypertension is a highly damaging condition that can lead to many health complications and the first rule in its management is: Do not allow it to manifest, to begin with. A healthy lifestyle — regular exercise and a balanced diet — are decidedly the cure pills for high blood pressure. It would seem that the young, in particular, do not need this advice as they are wont to be active and healthy anyway.
However, reality is reading out from a different script — which says that in actively choosing an inactive lifestyle and unhealthy diets, young people are making an extremely damaging trade-off.
It is time to use every possible means to make them aware of this through parental advice and support, government campaigns, social media and peer group awareness — whatever it takes.
This battle may have begun prematurely, but it can be fought with success.
