Health Promotion and Prevention of Lifestyle Disorders
What the exam tests
The difference between health promotion, prevention and treatment; the main lifestyle disorders; and how yoga fits into public-health frameworks. Expect questions on risk factors, levels of prevention and safe referral.
Lifestyle disorders and risk factors
Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidaemia, chronic respiratory disease, osteoarthritis and common mental disorders. Modifiable risks: unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco, alcohol, poor sleep, chronic stress. Non-modifiable: age, sex, genetics.
Levels of prevention
- Primordial - avoid risk factors in the population.
- Primary - prevent onset in at-risk people.
- Secondary - early detection and risk reduction.
- Tertiary - rehabilitation and complication control.
Ottawa Charter alignment
Yoga programmes can support personal skills (breath awareness, stress management), supportive environments (group classes), community action (local yoga groups) and reorientation of health services (integrating yoga into primary care). They do not by themselves create healthy public policy.
Worked example
A community yoga class for people with metabolic syndrome. Reasoning: include surya namaskāra at a moderate pace, standing poses, prāṇāyāma and relaxation; add diet and sleep education; screen for cardiac risk; refer those with uncontrolled blood pressure or glucose. The class is primary/secondary prevention, not a substitute for medication.
Traps
Saying yoga replaces medication; confusing primary and tertiary prevention; ignoring the Ottawa Charter's policy level; overstating evidence.