Non-communicable diseases
Diseases that are not passed from one person to another are called non-communicable diseases. According to World Health Organization data, about 38 million people die of them every year worldwide; cancer, lung diseases and diabetes are the main ones.
The main causes of non-communicable diseases are heavy use of tobacco and alcohol, wrong eating habits and lack of exercise.
Non-communicable diseases have become a major problem in Sri Lanka today: about 60% of deaths from disease are caused by them. The common ones are described on the following pages.
Communicable diseases
Caused by germs — bacteria, viruses, parasites
Spread from person to person or by mosquitoes, water or food
Examples: dengue, tuberculosis, influenza
Non-communicable diseases
Caused mainly by lifestyle, environment and heredity
Not passed from person to person
Examples: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, kidney disease
Why they have become the main killer
A century ago most people in Sri Lanka died of infections — malaria, cholera, diarrhoea. Clean water, vaccines, antibiotics and public health work brought those down, so people now live long enough for slow, lifestyle diseases to develop. At the same time, the changes of the last page — sitting jobs, processed food, tobacco and alcohol — raised the risk. Most non-communicable diseases can be prevented or delayed by the same few habits: regular exercise, a balanced diet low in sugar, salt and fat, no tobacco, little alcohol, and regular check-ups.
Not catching does not mean harmless
Non-communicable diseases cannot be caught from someone else, but they now cause most deaths in Sri Lanka — about 60%.
Diseases of how we live
Non-communicable diseases are not passed between people; tobacco, alcohol, poor diet and lack of exercise cause most of them.