6 Unhealthy Habits That Are Just As Harmful As Smoking

Everyone knows that smoking is an addiction that can have serious consequences for our body. However, there are still a number of unhealthy habits that are actually just as harmful as smoking. Who knows, you may have some of these habits yourself and they endanger your health without realizing it.

Read this article to learn about six daily unhealthy habits that are just as dangerous as smoking.

How bad is smoking?

To add a little more context to our article, let’s share some worrying data about smoking:

Smoking damages almost every organ in the body and is directly responsible for a whole host of diseases.

It is estimated that one in two smokers will die from a smoking-related disease.

Every year there are more deaths from smoking than from all of the following causes of death combined:

• Traffic accidents
• Illegal drug use
• HIV
• firearm kills
• Alcohol consumption

The habit of smoking shortens men’s lives by about 12 years and women’s lives by about 11 years.

Based on this information, we can say that the unhealthy habits we discuss below have a similar effect on our bodies. Especially when we look at the extent to which they damage our body.

Unhealthy Habits That Are Just As Harmful As Smoking

1. Drinking soda

Carbonated drinks, also known as soda, contain huge amounts of sugar, in the form of high-fructose corn syrup.

This ingredient is the main culprit in the increased rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases in our society today.

How bad can soda be? Well, just one can of soda a day can cause us to gain as much as seven pounds in one year. Also, this small amount increases our risk of diabetes by 85 percent.

In addition, the soft drink industry is known for marketing campaigns that target not only adult sales, as is the case with tobacco, but the entire family, including children and teenagers.

2. Sleeping too much…or too little

When it comes to sleep, it is important to know that the appropriate amount of sleep is between seven and nine hours a night.

Studies from the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicate that sleeping less than six hours or more than 10 hours a day can lead to problems such as:

• heart disease
• Diabetes
• obesity
• Depression

These studies also recommend that you no longer set multiple alarms in the morning. This is because interrupted sleep can reduce the benefits that our night’s sleep offers.

This unhealthy habit some people have acquired can cause us to wake up even more tired than we were when our alarm went off for the first time.

3. Sitting Too Much

If you are one of those people who goes home after eight hours in the office to relax by watching television, your life may be in grave danger.

According to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine, adults who sit more than 11 hours a day are 40% more likely to die within a three-year period. This probability calculation is compared to people who sit less than four hours a day.

Spending extended periods of time on our buttocks increases the risk of:

• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Heart conditions

In addition, we must also point out that these risks do not decrease if you also regularly exercise.

4. Drinking too much coffee

While there’s nothing better than starting a long day at work with a delicious cup of coffee, drinking more than four cups of coffee a day can increase your risk of death by 56%.

Research conducted between 1979 and 1998 studied the medical and personal histories of 40,000 people. After being studied for 17 years, more than 2,500 participants had died.

Although excessive coffee consumption was not the cause of death, the study found that those who drank more coffee were also often more likely to smoke. In addition, their hearts and lungs were less healthy.

Coffee is a source of caffeine, a substance that stimulates the production of adrenaline, inhibits insulin activity and raises blood pressure.

5. Sit cross-legged

It may seem harmless, but  sitting with your legs crossed can hinder circulation and cause blood clots. This can cause problems such as:

• Varicose veins
• Raised blood pressure
• Thrombosis
• Tension in the hips
• Problems with your posture

6. Unhealthy Diet

A diet high in fast foods or foods high in preservatives is just as bad as excessive consumption of alcohol, drugs and tobacco combined, according to GLOPAN.

Unhealthy eating habits are a global problem that also damages the economies of countries. This is in contrast to tobacco use, which only affects a certain group of people.

An unhealthy diet can lead to:

• Type 2 diabetes
• cardiovascular disease
• Cancer
• hypertension
• Anemia
• Other health problems