Lifestyle and Health

Lifestyle and Health

There are a number of disorders that result from an individual's lifestyle and the decisions they choose to make. In some cases the harmful consequences of their behaviour is known as an 'outset'. Most people are aware of the increased risk of lung cancer and emphysema that smoking causes. In other cases, the damage may only become more apparent later. Excercise which is normally beneficial, can lead to osteoarthritis if it is excessive or inappropriate. 

What is risk?

Before risk factors can be associated with lifestyle we must consider the meaning of the word 'risk'. In the context of health, the simplest definition of risk is: a measure of the probability that damage to heaalth will occur as a result of a given hazard.

The concept of risk has 2 elements:

- The probability that a hazardous event…