We routinely turn on the lights, crank up the heat, and drive gas guzzling vehicles. We never guess that these seemingly innocuous actions are slowly leading us down a dangerous path.

Doing so, we are feeding into a deadly cycle of CO2 emissions and not just contributing to climate change, but also to cardiovascular diseases.

Imagine this: cars stuck in traffic, offices buzzing with energy, and homes blazing with heat. The largest contributor to worldwide CO2 footprints is not factories or industries but the humble household.

This eye-opening global study across three nations adds the pieces of this puzzle together: electricity consumption, water use, transportation, and fuel.

If you are a young person reading this, there is a high chance that the person who raised you has engaged in this study. Activity was carried out across 36, 824 participants. For many of us, it was just another day doing what we usually do. Cooking, washing, watching television, commuting. This was the story of three countries: China, Japan and Australia. However, the research did not just break down a person's age, gender or income. It was also broken down by the amount of time individuals spent indoors vs engaging in physical activities.

 The study revealed a chilling fact: There is a 12. 34% chance of developing such a disease within our lifetime.

A third of a million people can seem overwhelming, but it does not need to be that worrying. Researchers calculated energy consumption as well as 'household carbon consumption'.

The study reacted to energy usage in two ways. First it simply looked at all, a rather practical approach. But then it identified energy usage with water use and transportation. This was named household carbon consumption.

The numbers do not lie.

The researchers employed 'Cox proportional hazard regression models'. We believe this is a fancy way of saying that the study monitored whether or not the participants developed CVS. It took into account a number of factors - how the participants of different a

Reportedly, elderly, women, low-income earners, and urban residents are the most vulnerable.

Directly comparing energy consumption to CVD, the risks increase by 18%.

When household carbon consumption was involved, numbers were lower, but still alarming.

This resulted in many age groups of people being affected which is at frightening rates.

Old individuals are 11% percent more susceptible. Most frighteningly, women have a whopping 11% additional risk! Urban commuters are also at a higher risk as well as individuals who have low incomes.

So as the world takes steps to reduce carbon emissions, it must not be forgotten that the household sector too plays a major role in the contribution of CO2 emissions.

This can be achieved by following a low energy lifestyle as well as being physically active.

But let's think beyond our lifestyles; let's think about who we are, and what we can do for our future.

We can easily change our environments and make them healthier if we choose to start small.

Isn't it time we take a proactive stance and stop contributing to the growing problem of cardiovascular diseases for the sake of our own heart health?

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