Health

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CHAPTER 16

• Health

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Health

• Lifestyle your way of living (e.g., attitudes,
  habits, choices, behaviors)
• Bio-psycho-social health modelhealth is best
  understood in terms of a combination of
  biological, psychological, and social factors

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Biological Factors That Influence Health

• Just a century ago, illnesses included infectious
  diseases such as influenza, smallpox,
  tuberculosis, typhoid fever, etc.
• Major causes of death in the U.S. today heart
  disease, cancer, and stroke (in that order)
• Diabetes is also a major contributor to
  disability and death.

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Psychological Factors That Influence Health

• Causes of health problems include lack of self
  control, emotional turmoil, and negative thinking
  
• Things to keep in mind regarding psychological
  well-being and health
• People can reduce the risk of coronary heart
  problems by learning to control anger.
• Chronic emotional stress is linked with
  cardiovascular disease.
• Positive emotion may be linked to the prevention
  of colds.
• Happy people are more likely than sad individuals
  to engage in health-promoting behaviors.

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Social Factors That Influence Health

• The frequency and intensity of health problems
  varies across cultures.
• Variations are linked to the following aspects of
  cultures social, economic, technological, and
  religious
• Specific social factors that influence health
  problems include SES, poverty, race, ethnicity

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Eating Habits and Health

• Research studies have linked fat intake to
  cancerthe more fat you eat, the more at risk you
  become for cancer.
• Two ways to possibly lengthen life through eating
  habits caloric restriction and use of some
  vitamin supplements (antioxidants-vitamins C, E,
  and beta-carotene)

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Obesity

• Obesity-30 overweight
• Obesity is measured by body mass index
  (BMI)weight in relation to height according to
  age.
• More than 60 of U.S. adults are either
  overweight or obese.
• Obesity is linked to increased risk of
  hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular
  disease.

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Possible Causes of Obesity

• Heredity
• Leptin
• Protein produced by the body anti-obesity
  hormonethe more leptin you produce, the fuller
  you feel
• Set point
• the weight maintained when no effort is put into
  gaining or losing weightthe more you eat, the
  larger your set point becomes
• Metabolism
• basal metabolism rate-BMRthe minimal amount of
  energy an individual uses in a resting statethe
  more your BMR declines, the easier it becomes to
  gain weight
• Environmental factors
• taste preferences, the availability of food,
  energy-saving devices, declining physical
  activity
• Ethnicity and gender
• African American and Latino women become obese
  faster than White women Latino men become obese
  faster than African American and White men

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Dieting

• Pros and cons of dieting
• Restrained eatersindividuals who chronically
  restrict their food intake to control their
  weight
• Types of diet
• low-carb (Atkins)
• Exercise (benefits)
• Benefits of losing weight for overweight adults

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Eating Disorders

• Anorexia nervosa
• Relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation
  (weigh less than 85 of normal weight have an
  intense fear of gaining weight have a distorted
  body image)
• More common in females
• Most are white, adolescent females
• Linked to high expectations and society beliefs
• Bulimia nervosa
• Bingeing and purging (at least 2 Xs a week for
  three months)
• Preoccupied with food strong fear of becoming
  overweight depressed or anxious fall within
  normal weight
• More common in females, and more common than
  anorexia also, more men experience bulimia when
  compared to anorexia
• Linked to increased dieting, pressure to be thin,
  exaggerated emphasis on appearance, body
  dissatisfaction, depression, low self-esteem, low
  social support

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Exercise

• Aerobic exercise
• Sustained exercise that stimulates heart and lung
  activityjogging, swimming, cycling
• Benefits of exercise
• Exercise helps prevent heart disease and other
  chronic illnesses.
• It improves self concept and reduces anxiety and
  depression.
• It can lead to a longer, healthier life.
• It can be used to effectively treat disability.

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Psychoactive Drugs

• Substance that act on the nervous system to alter
  states of consciousness, modify perceptions, and
  change moods.
• Depressants
• Slow down the central nervous system, body
  functions, and behavior.
• Alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers
• Stimulants
• Increase the activity of the nervous system.
• Caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine
• Hallucinogens
• Modify perceptual experiences and produce
  hallucinations.
• LSD, marijuana, ecstasy

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Addiction

• Psychological dependence
• Preoccupied with obtaining a drug for emotional
  reasons
• Physical dependence
• Discontinuing use of drug creates unpleasant,
  significant changes in physical functioning and
  behavior (withdrawal symptoms)
• Models of addiction
• Disease model of addictionbiologically based
• Life-process model of addictionhabitual
  response/source of gratification or security

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Alcohol Use

• Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the
  brains activities.
• Drinking in college studentsbinge drinking
• Cultural differences
• Males drink more than females
• Some religions restrict it (Islam) others
  consume it highly (Catholics, Reform Jews,
  liberal Protestants)
• Europeans (esp. the French) drink at high rates
• In Russia, use is also high in China, use is low
• Alcoholism
• The third leading killer in the U.S.
• Related to genetics (50-60) and environment
• Factors that predict recovery

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Smoking

• Smoking is linked to
• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Chronic pulmonary disease
• Secondhand smoke
• Linked to cancer, and respiratory and middle-ear
  diseases in children.
• Nicotinea stimulant that increases energy and
  alertness, and stimulates neurotransmitters that
  have a calming or pain-reducing effect

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Treatment Medical Services

• Factors that influence treatment seeking
• Life activity
• Belief systems
• SES and ethnicity
• Gender
• Good patient role (behaves properly) vs. bad
  patient role (complains about everything--misbehav
  es)
• Reasons for failing to follow doctors orders
• Lack of satisfaction with quality of care
• Lack of trust in doctors