Review Questions and Answers

Chapter 6 – Lifestyle Factors Effecting Health

1) What might health mean to a cross section of the population?

Health is a notoriously complex and controversial term to define, with different people taking different viewpoints on the topic. Biomedical, scientific, psychological and holistic definitions are all widely used and accepted. Perhaps the greatest indicator of what health means can be taken from a ten point guideline created by the department of health which provides tips for improving health what many of the population would use to define health. These are as follows:

a) Don’t smoke, stop if you can, if you can’t then smoke less
b) Follow a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables
c) Keep physically active
d) Manage stress by talking about problems and making time to relax
e) If you drink alcohol then do so in moderation
f) Cover up in the sun and prtect children from sunburn
g) Practice safer sex
h) Take up cancer screening opportunities
i) Be safe on the roads
j) Learn the first aid A,B,C – Airways, Breathing, Circulation

2) How might health be measured?

Health is generally measured according to four dimensions identified by Blaxter (1990):

a) Unfitness/Fitness: easily collectable physiological measures such as blood pressure, heart rate and body mass index can be used to objectively measure health.

b) Presence/Absence of disease: based on reported medical conditions basic questions can be asked referring to any long-standing illnesses or disabilities. The answers to these questions will be in the form of specific diseases, conditions and some self-diagnosis.

c) Experience of Illness/Freedom from Illness: based on short term reporting of common symptoms and conditions which can be added together to create comparable scores.

d) Psycho-social health: reports of psychological symptoms including depression, stress and lack of sleep. As with illnesses, scores can be created and compared.

These dimensions can also be combined to create an overall health index.

3) Is there evidence that people in developed European countries such as the UK are active enough?

There is little evidence in support of sufficient levels of activity of people in the UK, in fact most evidence supports the opposite situation. Since the mid 1980s participation in sport and general physical activity has both declined while obesity, use of cars and hours spent watching television have all increased. Add to this the ever increasing amount of labour saving devices available and the development of a serious problem can be observed.

4) What health issues does physical inactivity have an impact upon?

The primary risk of physical inactivity to health comes in the form of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, essentially the functioning of the heart and blood system, which has a knock on effect of restricting blood supply to the major and vital organs of the body. These diseases come in many forms and include:

• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Heart failure
• Congenital heart disease
• Cardiomyopathies
• Cerebrovascular disease (stroke)
• Transient ischaemic attacks
• Peripheral vascular disease

The likelihood of suffering from one or more of these conditions is doubled in sedentary individuals; a fact that may be surprising is that women are four times more likely to die from coronary heart disease than breast cancer.

There are other conditions and diseases that physical inactivity can impact on. The risk of hypertension, diabetes and obesity are increased. Osteoporosis, fracture risk, tendon and joint flexibility, mobility and range of movement are also affected, which will be appreciated to a greater extent in middle and old age. Less obvious conditions can also be affected such as psychological and mental health and even cancer risks can be increased.

5) What impact does poor diet have on the risk of developing non-insulin dependant diabetes mellitus and cancer?

Diabetes:

Those who are overweight, obese or physically inactive have a greater risk of developing diabetes. This diabetes risk increases the risk of suffering from other conditions such as coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular diseases. So a suitable balanced diet without over eating and with a physical activity routine can be seen as crucial in reducing the risk of developing diabetes.

Cancer:

Two major dietary aspects have in impact on the risk of cancer. Firstly, dietary fibre has a protective effect on the colon and rectum, reducing the risk of cancer by diluting carcinogens, increasing faecal output and increasing transit time of matter through these areas. Secondly antioxidants, in the form of vitamins, carotenoids and glutathione are crucial in the removal of free radicals from the body. Free radicals are a by product of metabolism and are molecules containing one or more unpaired electrons which makes them unstable and reactive. They are linked to the onset of cancer and so a healthy intake of fruit and vegetables and other antioxidant sources is clearly crucial to cancer prevention.

6) On what social, psychological and health grounds should alcohol consumption be low and never in large quantities?

Social: over consumption of alcohol is readily linked to a number of social problems including:

• Assault
• Child abuse
• Criminal damage
• Deviant behaviour
• Domestic violence
• Road accidents
• Sexual assault

Psychological: alcohol has powerful effects on the central nervous system effecting neurotransmitter and messenger systems. Problems of dependency, alcohol abuse and mental illness often follow.

Health: the health risks of excessive alcohol consumption are rarely out of the public eye, these include:

• Decrease in exercise performance
• Cancer of the oesophagus, mouth, larynx and digestive tract
• Liver problems such as fatty liver, cirrhosis, and hepatitis
• Sensible drinking can decrease the risk of coronary heart diseases, but misuse increases these risks.

7) What are the health problems associated with smoking and drug use?

Tobacco smoking:

• Decreased capacity and tolerance for physical activity
• Negative effects on blood, cardiovascular system and lungs
• Decrease in the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood
• Decrease in oxygen consumption
• Decrease in minute ventilation
• Decrease in anaerobic threshold
• Increase in heart rate and blood pressure
• Links to blindness and strokes
• Increased chance of miscarriages, premature births and growth retardation amongst unborn children
• Plus the highly publicised cancer risk to areas such as the lungs and throat

Smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in the UK.

Drugs:

Different drugs and drug classes have differing health risks.

a) Stimulants:

i) Ecstasy

• Hyperthermia can lead to heat illness
• Dehydration
• Anxiety
• Confusion
• Sleep disturbance
• Irritability
• At its worst can lead to cardiac arrest, mental illness and liver damage

ii) Cocaine

• Heart failure
• Addiction
• Physical and mental ill health
• Nasal and breathing problems due to intake through nose

iii) Amyl and butyl nitrites

• Headaches
• Vomiting
• Dermatitis
• Clinical shock
• Unconsciousness
• Death

b) Depressants:

i) Heroin

• HIV and other infectious diseases due to sharing needles and syringes for injection
• Dependency
• Physiological and psychological problems of withdrawal
• Overdose leading to death when underestimating purity

ii) Tranquillisers

• If injected, HIV and other diseases, as with heroin
• Depression
• Aggression
• Unpredictable behaviour
• Restlessness
• Anxiety

c) Hallucinogens:

i) LSD

• Flashbacks
• Hallucinations

ii) Cannabis

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Psychosis
• Cancer risk, as with tobacco smoking

iii) Magic mushrooms

• Risk of picking poisonous mushrooms
  

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