Defining Health
An individual’s health is not solely the product of their own actions. People are subject to an array of circumstances beyond their control. Several factors come together to influence health. Geographical location, socioeconomic status, sex, culture, upbringing, stigma and social connections all play a role in personal impacting health.
Whether a person lives in a rural or densely populated city, in the first or third world, health is always affected by a person’s environment. People living in rural locations may not always have access to good health care and may not be well educated in prevention and treatments for certain illnesses and diseases. On the other hand, people residing in overpopulated, large cities may be subject …show more content…
The combinations of fast-food, ultra thin celebrities and the glorification of the chronically busy and as a result constantly exhausted individual can have major impacts on health. Western culture is obsessed with the idea of this person who can do it all and still be content and attractive is not only unrealistic but unobtainable. Sadly, a lot of the standards forced onto the population by social media target young girls. Social media has played a large role in adolescent girls’ self-esteem. Extreme dieting, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are can be the result of western culture’s ideal of the perfect …show more content…
Genes can determine the likelihood of a person developing diseases like cancer and cystic fibrosis. A person’s genes also determine where a body stores its fat, the trunk or the abdomen, an area where fat accumulation has been associated with elevated chances of developing diabetes and atherosclerosis. There are also health differences between women and men. Although, “women experience substantially higher rates of depression and anxiety disorders than men, men have higher rates of substance abuse, antisocial behaviour and suicide” (Kessler et al., 2003a,b). The odds of an individual developing a mental illness also increase by the number of family members affected by the
An individual’s health is not solely the product of their own actions. People are subject to an array of circumstances beyond their control. Several factors come together to influence health. Geographical location, socioeconomic status, sex, culture, upbringing, stigma and social connections all play a role in personal impacting health.
Whether a person lives in a rural or densely populated city, in the first or third world, health is always affected by a person’s environment. People living in rural locations may not always have access to good health care and may not be well educated in prevention and treatments for certain illnesses and diseases. On the other hand, people residing in overpopulated, large cities may be subject …show more content…
The combinations of fast-food, ultra thin celebrities and the glorification of the chronically busy and as a result constantly exhausted individual can have major impacts on health. Western culture is obsessed with the idea of this person who can do it all and still be content and attractive is not only unrealistic but unobtainable. Sadly, a lot of the standards forced onto the population by social media target young girls. Social media has played a large role in adolescent girls’ self-esteem. Extreme dieting, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are can be the result of western culture’s ideal of the perfect …show more content…
Genes can determine the likelihood of a person developing diseases like cancer and cystic fibrosis. A person’s genes also determine where a body stores its fat, the trunk or the abdomen, an area where fat accumulation has been associated with elevated chances of developing diabetes and atherosclerosis. There are also health differences between women and men. Although, “women experience substantially higher rates of depression and anxiety disorders than men, men have higher rates of substance abuse, antisocial behaviour and suicide” (Kessler et al., 2003a,b). The odds of an individual developing a mental illness also increase by the number of family members affected by the