Chapter 1 Achieving Personal Health

Defining Health and Wellness The World Health Organization (1947): “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Wellness is the process of moving toward optimal health.

Wellness Continuum The wellness continuum helps distinguish between the medical model of health and the wellness concept; most individuals move back and forth across the continuum from illness to wellness. The wellness continuum includes prevention, behaviors, illness or disease, and a neutral point.

Homeostasis and Health The body has mechanisms that regulate physiological processes within certain limits for optimal functioning. Homeostasis is the regulation of body systems to produce a relatively constant physiological state. Homeostatic mechanisms are responsible for maintaining normal blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and blood glucose levels.

Models of Health—Medical Model Health is the absence of one or more of the “five Ds”—death, disease, discomfort, disability, and dissatisfaction. Relies almost exclusively on biological explanations of disease and illness and on interpreting them in terms of malfunction.

Models of Health—Medical Model Terminology Vital statistics measure the health status of a population. Prevalence describes the predominance of a disease in a population.

Models of Health—Medical Model Incidence means the occurrence of particular diseases; the frequency at which certain diseases occur; the number of people who contract a disease or illness within a specific given period of time. Morbidity data are statistics on the number of people suffering from illness in a given population. Mortality data are the number of deaths in a given population.

Models of Health—Environmental Model Based on analyses of ecosystems and environmental risks to health, such as socioeconomic status (SES), level of education, and various environmental factors. Health is defined in terms of the quality of a person’s adaptation to the environment as conditions change.

Models of Health—Environmental Model Focuses on conditions outside the individual that affect his or her health, such as quality of air and water, living conditions, exposure to harmful substances, SES, social relationships, and the available health care system.

Models of Health—Holistic Model Encompasses the physiological, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental aspects of individuals and communities. Emphasizes that each person has the capability and the responsibility for optimizing his or her sense of well-being, practicing self-healing, and creating feelings and conditions that help prevent disease and promote and maintain health.

Models of Health—Holistic Model Positive wellness. Holistic health, or wellness, is a dynamic, ongoing process.

Six Dimensions of Health and Wellness Emotional wellness requires understanding emotions and coping with problems that arise in everyday life. Intellectual wellness involves having a mind open to new ideas and concepts. Spiritual wellness is the state of harmony between you and others. Occupational wellness is being able to enjoy what you are doing to earn a living or to contribute to society.

Six Dimensions of Health and Wellness Social wellness is the ability to perform social roles effectively, comfortably, and without harming others. Physical wellness is a healthy body maintained by eating right, exercising regularly, avoiding harmful habits, making informed and responsible decisions about health, seeking medical care when needed, and participating in activities that help to prevent illness.

Taking Responsibility for Your Health Today, “lifestyle diseases,” that is, chronic diseases caused by lifestyle behaviors, are the leading causes of illness and death. Taking responsibility for our behaviors means changing our negative lifestyles to positive lifestyles; by doing so, we can avoid illness and achieve wellness, or optimal health.

Lifestyle and Health Leading the list of life-shortening behaviors is tobacco use, which is responsible for more than 400,000 deaths among Americans per year. Unhealthy diet and activity patterns contribute to the next highest number of deaths in the United States after tobacco. Associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and cancer

Lifestyle and Health Transmission of infectious disease accounts for more than 120,000 deaths annually. Overuse of antibiotics Environmental factors Firearms Motor vehicle accidents Lack of access to health care

Lifestyle Diseases–Diabetes Diabetes is a disease in which the amount of sugar in the blood increases to unhealthy levels due to a malfunction in the body’s sugar-regulating system. Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent) was formerly referred to as “juvenile diabetes.” Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent) was formerly referred to as “maturity onset” diabetes. Associated with being overweight

Lifestyle Diseases–Nearsightedness Nearsightedness is when vision is affected by lifestyle. During early development, a child’s eyes adapt to the visual information they receive from the environment. Watching TV and computer screens closely and reading books, magazines, and newspapers for many hours daily cause myopia.

Healthy People 2010 Goals: Help all people to live longer and improve the quality of their lives Eliminate health disparities among segments of the U.S. population It consists of 467 health objectives grouped into 28 focus areas. Healthy People 2010 was developed with a greater understanding of advances in preventive therapies, vaccines and other pharmaceuticals, assistive technologies, and computerized systems, as well as heightened awareness and demand for preventive health services and quality health care.

Health Issues of College Students Mental health Food and weight Health care Substance use and abuse Sexual and relationship health Accidents and injuries

Making Healthy Changes: The Health Belief Model Factors include: Perceived susceptibility Perceived seriousness Perceived benefits of taking action Barriers to taking action Cues to action

The Transtheoretical Model Acknowledges that behavior change goes through the following stages: Precontemplation Contemplation Preparation Action Maintenance Termination

It Starts with You No smoking Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night Maintain a healthy body weight Get regular exercise

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