According to a WHO regional director, lifestyle diseases are now hitting Asia-Pacific countries and their aging populations.

Lifestyle diseases which are also known as diseases of longevity or diseases of civilization are defined as diseases that seems to be common as countries are becoming developed, industrialized and people have longer life spans. Diseases classified under this category include atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, asthma, specific types of cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, osteoporosis, depression, chronic renal failure, obesity and stroke. Though the term 'diseases of longevity ' can be ambiguous since there are some diseases like asthma, dental caries or diabetes that are even popular in the younger generation due to a westernized diet.

This sharp increase of lifestyle diseases in Asian countries can be blamed to change in diets and poor exercise, this statement came from Shin Young-soo, the current Western Pacific WHO director. The new studies reveal that as much as 12% of the Chinese adult population are considered diabetic and as high as 50% are already pre-diabetic or borderline diabetic. Compared to a previous data that estimates only a meager 3-4% of Chinese adult diabetics in the year 1990, the big gap seems to be noticeable.

Another unusual fact discovered from these studies is the higher prevalence of Asian diabetics as compared to the Western population. Around 10% of adults from South Korea, Vietnam and Japan are also suffering from the debilitating disease diabetes.  

The big change of diet in the last 30-40 years is said to be connected with this observation as stated by Shin Young-soo. He added that behavior change and collective awareness by the society are important since these would lead to spikes in health care costs, push nations to spend more for elderly care and loss of productive labor power. Even ailments like high cholesterol and hypertension are also on the rise even though these diseases are easily preventable.