Inside: The Biggest Risks In Life. Collaborative post.
Many of us have an obsession with our own mortality and worry about just how we might die. After all, nobody knows what’s round the corner in life. And while this may sound a rather depressing and unsavoury way to start an article, it does lead on to some really interesting data.
When it comes to risk factors there are a huge number in the world that can cause our lives to fall short, and the number of deaths each year can be attributed to many of them, from alcohol and drug abuse to the current climate crisis.
Over the last few years, in light of the pandemic, those figures have increased, with a rising number of drug addiction cases and the global temperature rising at an alarming rate.
But what are the biggest risk factors around the world?
High blood pressure
High blood pressure is the biggest killer of people around the world, contributing to a total of 10.85 million deaths around the world each year. Of course, lots of things can lead to that, including the likes of alcohol and drug addiction, as well as unhealthy lifestyles driven by the fast food world we live in.
Smoking
The number of people smoking is on a downward path, but there are still a huge number of people globally who do smoke, particularly in Asia and Eastern Europe. Even today, around 7.69 million people around the world die each year as a result of smoking, making it the second deadliest risk factor on the planet.
Air pollution
If the 6.67 million deaths per year due to air pollution isn’t a sign that we need to be looking after the planet more, then we’re not sure what is.
The number of people suffering because of air pollution is only going to continue as the crisis worsens too, and it’s up to the various governments around the world to do something about it.
Outside the top three
High blood sugar (6.65 million deaths) and obesity (5.02 million deaths) complete the top five biggest killers each year, with alcohol use finishing just outside with a total of 2.44 million deaths per year.
A large number of deaths come from the risks that certain diets can have, including those that are high in sodium and low in whole grains, while unsafe water still contributes to over a million deaths each year.