New Delhi: The rising air pollution in India could be among one of the main reasons for premature killing according to a recent study conducted by Centre for Science and Environment (CES).
The study has highlighted major links between environment and its direct impact on health which states diseases such as obesity, mental health, cancer and heart diseases and others as the major killers in India, along with air pollution which causes nearly 30% of premature deaths due to impaired lungs. The study was conducted in New Delhi on Monday.
The report “Body Burden” released by the CSE said, “Over 61 percent of total deaths in India were attributed to lifestyle or non-communicable diseases (NCDs)… More than 1.73 million new cancer cases likely to be recorded each year by 2020, air pollution, tobacco, alcohol and diet change are primary triggers,” adding that, “Air pollution causes 30 percent of all premature deaths in the country; linkages with mental diseases revealed in the study.”
Stating that every third child in India suffers due to impaired lungs in India, it also added that every 12th Indian is a diabetic.
“India ranks second in the list of countries with highest diabetes patients,” the report stated.
It has firmly established its study that unless the factors responsible for causing diseases are not acknowledged with, India will not be able to curb the NCDs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the four major risk factors for NCDs are alcohol, tobacco, poor dietary intake and lack of physical activity.
This study into the major factors and their impact on health, the CSE report, strongly suggests more investment is required in India to curb these factors.
Sunita Narain, director general, CSE and member Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) speaking of it said, “We believe the cost is going to be much higher considering that risk factors in India are many more than the four identified by the global body.”
She explained why these identified risk factors like alcohol, tobacco, poor diet, and lack of physical activity usually cause diseases which are not generally linked to them.
She added, “For example, exposure to pesticides is known to cause cancer, but new data is emerging to link it to diabetes as well.”
Likewise, air pollution is known to cause Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD), but there is little study on how could this one factor have its adverse effect on mental health.
Vibha Varshney, lead writer of the report said, “Targeting environmental risk factors is essential if we want to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 3.4, which mandates a one-third reduction in premature deaths due to lifestyle diseases by 2030.”