'Diseases of civilization' catch up with Tibetans
Source: Xinhua |
August 22, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BORN to a farmer's family, Phurbu had no idea his eating habits might one day cause a problem.
Phurbu works for a government-run institution in the city of Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Now in his late 40s, Phurbu has found he has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a fatty liver. A doctor told him to control his diet and stop drinking alcohol.
He said: "When I was a kid, my parents did not have much to feed me and I was always hungry. Now I have more money but I cannot eat what I like."
Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, gout and hyperlipemia are so rare in Tibet that traditional Tibetan medicine contains no treatment for them. Phurbu has instead turned to Western medicine.
Trangjo, deputy director of the physical examination center at the People's Hospital of Tibet, said: "The number of people with lifestyle diseases in Tibet has increased very quickly over the past five years."
She said 30 to 40 people are examined daily at the center. Nearly half have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They are mostly between 30 and 45 years old.
Tibetans used to suffer from diseases associated with poverty, such as smallpox, cholera, typhoid and tetanus. Iodine deficiencies were also common.
However, these diseases have largely been eradicated since the 1950s. Smallpox has disappeared, cholera and iodine deficiencies have all but vanished.
Trangjo said: "Higher living standards and better medical services have reduced the incidence of traditional diseases but also led to new ones."
She uses seafood as an example. Seldom seen in traditional Tibetan diets, seafood is now quite common and popular at more expensive restaurants. However, those who dine on seafood too often are more likely to have gout, according to Trangjo.
Alcohol consumption is also seen as a major cause of lifestyle diseases in Tibet. Sales of Lhasa Beer, a local brand, totaled 400 million yuan (US$58.82 million) in Tibet last year - an average of 140 yuan for every Tibetan resident.
However, the availability of other beer brands means the real figure might be even higher.
Lifestyle diseases, sometimes called "diseases of civilization," occur more frequently in industrialized regions. In the past decade, the number of Chinese people with chronic diseases has increased by 10 million annually, according to Deputy Health Minister Huang Jiefu.
Huang said during a meeting last month that around 260 million Chinese have ailments such as diabetes, pulmonary disease, cancer and heart disease. Smoking, excessive drinking, unhealthy eating and lack of exercise are the main causes of chronic diseases, he said.
Trangjo said: "Tibetan people are eating much better than before, but they have not adjusted to their new lifestyles or paid enough attention to eating a healthy diet and getting more exercise."
Some of Tibet's lifestyle disease sufferers have treated their condition by returning to a traditional diet. Tsampa, or roasted barley flour, is a Tibetan staple believed to lower levels of lipoprotein and glucose in the blood.
Phurbu works for a government-run institution in the city of Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Now in his late 40s, Phurbu has found he has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a fatty liver. A doctor told him to control his diet and stop drinking alcohol.
He said: "When I was a kid, my parents did not have much to feed me and I was always hungry. Now I have more money but I cannot eat what I like."
Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, gout and hyperlipemia are so rare in Tibet that traditional Tibetan medicine contains no treatment for them. Phurbu has instead turned to Western medicine.
Trangjo, deputy director of the physical examination center at the People's Hospital of Tibet, said: "The number of people with lifestyle diseases in Tibet has increased very quickly over the past five years."
She said 30 to 40 people are examined daily at the center. Nearly half have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They are mostly between 30 and 45 years old.
Tibetans used to suffer from diseases associated with poverty, such as smallpox, cholera, typhoid and tetanus. Iodine deficiencies were also common.
However, these diseases have largely been eradicated since the 1950s. Smallpox has disappeared, cholera and iodine deficiencies have all but vanished.
Trangjo said: "Higher living standards and better medical services have reduced the incidence of traditional diseases but also led to new ones."
She uses seafood as an example. Seldom seen in traditional Tibetan diets, seafood is now quite common and popular at more expensive restaurants. However, those who dine on seafood too often are more likely to have gout, according to Trangjo.
Alcohol consumption is also seen as a major cause of lifestyle diseases in Tibet. Sales of Lhasa Beer, a local brand, totaled 400 million yuan (US$58.82 million) in Tibet last year - an average of 140 yuan for every Tibetan resident.
However, the availability of other beer brands means the real figure might be even higher.
Lifestyle diseases, sometimes called "diseases of civilization," occur more frequently in industrialized regions. In the past decade, the number of Chinese people with chronic diseases has increased by 10 million annually, according to Deputy Health Minister Huang Jiefu.
Huang said during a meeting last month that around 260 million Chinese have ailments such as diabetes, pulmonary disease, cancer and heart disease. Smoking, excessive drinking, unhealthy eating and lack of exercise are the main causes of chronic diseases, he said.
Trangjo said: "Tibetan people are eating much better than before, but they have not adjusted to their new lifestyles or paid enough attention to eating a healthy diet and getting more exercise."
Some of Tibet's lifestyle disease sufferers have treated their condition by returning to a traditional diet. Tsampa, or roasted barley flour, is a Tibetan staple believed to lower levels of lipoprotein and glucose in the blood.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
