Adults can reclaim good health by changing their poor health habits. The Disability Zone is that period of time in life when people can no longer function on their own. They are limited in mental, physical, or social functioning. The average person's life span in 1980 was about 73 years with about 11 of those years lived in the Disability Zone. Health risk factors can move people into the Disability Zone where they may not be able to take care of themselves.
Risk factors can lead to decreased body function or to disease.
For example, an inactive lifestyle can promote the onset of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and diminished mental health. Over many years, cholesterol deposits, called plaques, are laid down in blood vessels from smoking, eating too much fatty foods, not exercising, being overweight, and having high blood pressure. A heart attack occurs when fatty plaques and clots block the flow of blood to an area of the heart muscle. The area dies and scars form if the person survives the attack. Some plaques can be reduced by eliminating the health risk factors that caused them.