People want to live life to its fullest. But for many Albertans, cancer and chronic diseases get in the way of that. The good news? Most of these problems are preventable. The other good news? It’s not as complicated as you might think: There’s a short list of things we can change that make a big difference for things like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and obesity. We call these changes "modifiable risk factors".
Small changes. Big results.
Some of these modifiable risk factors can cause more than one disease. So by learning more about each of these risk factors and the diseases they can cause, you can make small changes in your lifestyle that will have a big impact on your health.
The research is clear: how you handle tobacco, physical activity, alcohol, stress—and especially how you eat—affects your risk of getting several chronic diseases. For example, more than one-third of cancers and up to 80% of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes could be prevented.
Health Conditions Share Common Risk Factors and Conditions
COMMON RISK FACTORS
- Non-modifiable Risk Factors
- Behavioural Risk Factors
- Cultural and Environmental Conditions
INTERMEDIATE CONDITIONS
- High Blood Pressure (or Hypertension)
- Elevated Blood Lipids (or Hyperlipidemia)
- Overweight/Obesity
- Pre-Diabetes
DISEASEs
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Diabetes
- Arthritis
- Chronic Respiratory Diseases
- Several Cancers
MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS FOR EACH CHRONIC DISEASE1
Choose one of the health conditions below to learn how you can take steps in reducing your risk.
