MANILA, Philippines - Rich people, who are generally perceived to have more to eat and lead an affluent lifestyle, are not the only ones who are at risk for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), a consultant of the Department of Health (DOH) warned on Wednesday.

Dr. Anthony Leachon, DOH consultant on NCDs, said the poor and the younger generation are also prone to lifestyle diseases such as stroke, cancer and diabetes as more of them tend to smoke, exercise less, and lack of access to proper nutrition.

"The problem with the youth and the poor is that they have less access to prevention, less access to treatment, and they have no money to go to the hospital or clinic," Leachon said in an interview on "Mornings@ANC."

"We need to save the young people and the poor. Right now, they are the backbone of the nation in terms of working for the country," he added.

Leachon noted that annually, three out of every five Filipinos die from NCDs, which can be classified into cardiovascular diseases (stroke and heart attack), cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease (bronchitis and emphysema) and diabetes.

He said NCDs pose a problem not only to individuals, but also to the nation as a whole.

"When you're sick, you are not productive. You spend money for medication and hospitalization... When we look at the bigger picture, a nation's health is a nation's wealth. A sick population is a sick nation," he explained.

"It's an epidemic," he added.

Is lifestyle a choice?

Most people believe that a person's state of health solely depends on what he chooses to eat and what he does to his body.

But Leachon begs to differ. "They say lifestyle is a choice, but I tend to challenge that. People would only respond to what the environment can give you," he said.

According to him, most Filipinos succumb to lifestyle diseases because of lack of education, discipline, and guidance. Leachon cited Singapore, where people are trained to "not smoke, spit and litter."

"When you are there (Singapore), you are suddenly transformed into a new person... When you go back here (Philippines), you become the same dysfunctional Filipino," he explained.

"It's about ignorance -- we need to educate a lot of people. Ineptitude -- knowledge exists right now that smoking is dangerous, but people would not comply to the guidelines correctly. And the environment may not be conducive to good lifestyle," he added.

So what needs to be done?

Leachon said the DOH is currently pushing for the three Ls -- learning, LGU (local government units) and labeling -- to address the NCD epidemic in the country.

"We need transformative education, from Grade 1 to collegiate level, to teach them about lifestyle. Leaders should provide a good environment... And for food labeling, we're working with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in terms of putting in calories, salt and sugar," he said.

Leachon said the agency also supports the local doctors' proposal to raise sin taxes on alcohol products.