Lifestyle Factors as Leading Causes of Death

Lifestyle Factors as Leading Causes of Death

According to the CDC, the risk of dying among young adults is not distributed evenly, and the annual death rate for this group is estimated at 49.5 deaths for every 100,000 people. The implication is that young adults are less likely to die from other conditions except for accidents or unintentional injuries, as well as intentional harm. Based on the data from the CDC, accidents are among the leading causes of death in the country, with over 160,000 deaths due to unintentional damage in 2017.

Further, intentional self-harm incidents like suicide is a leading cause of death and affect many young adults. In most instances, both accidents and deliberate self-harm occur due to lifestyle factors. As such, this essay offers a summary of the

lifestyle factors associated with the two causes of death that affects young adults.

Accidents make up close to 41 percent of deaths among young adults with motor accidents accounting for at least a quarter of all death in this group. In most cases, motor vehicles accidents happening due to human errors as a result of many factors that include driving under the influence of substances and alcohol, over-speeding, and recklessness on the road. For instance, young people like driving at high speeds while listening to music, talking or texting on their cellphones and other activities that distract them from concentrating on the road (Zhang et al., 2019). The implication is that all these are lifestyle factors that can be altered for their safety. Young adults can protect themselves by wearing a safety belt, driving defensively by following all the regulations. Besides, they should avoid risky behavior, which may result in accidents.

Substance influence and use like drugs and alcohol alter how one’s perception and decision-making when driving. Driving under substance and alcohol influence is a leading cause of motor accidents, yet this can be changed when young adults alter their drinking conduct, especially drunk driving. Drunk driving causes unintentional harm and obstructs one from properly judgment leading to over-speeding and flouting of traffic codes. Besides, many studies have shown that using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of getting an accident because of decreases perception reaction time among the drivers (Sun & Jia, 2016).

Intentional self-harm is a top leader in causing death among young adults and the entire population. Suicide, which accounts for most incidences of self-harm, is the second cause of death for young adults. Young adults are more susceptible to suicide because they believe that it is the only way out when in a situation like those suffering as a result of bullying at school or on the Internet. Young people also commit suicide due to mental health issues and depression but fail to seek help (Stibich, 2020). Self-harm may also occur due to the use of drugs and alcohol. For instance, close to fifteen percent of death among young adults occur due to inducement of drugs or alcohol.

Summary and Conclusion

The leading causes of death among young adults are based on lifestyle influences, which are difficult to change. The diseases of lifestyles are difficult to prevent because they depend on individual conduct, which cannot be monitored all the time. The leading causes of death like cancer and accidents are associated with lifestyle diseases and persistently rank higher in the country because it is not easy to control how people eat, what they eat, and their lifestyles. For instance, drug and alcohol use is a lifestyle issue where those addicted cannot leave the habit. Also, lifestyle issues like drunk driving and using cellphones while driving happen due to a driver’s perception and overconfidence in their abilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Leading Causes of Death. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

Stibich, M. (2020). Top 10 Causes of Death for Americans Ages 15 to 24. Retrieved from

https://www.verywellhealth.com/top-causes-of-death-for-ages-15-24-2223960

Sun, D., Jia, A. (2016). Impacts of cell phone use on driving safety and drivers’ perception of

risk. Journal of Modern Transportation, vol.24, pp.145-152.

Zhang, L., Cui, B., Yang, M., Guo, F., & Wang, J. (2019). Effect of Using Mobile Phones on

Driver’s Control Behavior Based on Naturalistic Driving Data. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol.16, No.8.