1. Making Healthy Decisions
Ch. 1 Notes

2. What Is Health?
Health- The overall well-being of your body, your mind, and your relationship with other people.
Two factors that can be used to evaluate health are:
Life Expectancy- The number of years a person can expect to live.
Quality of Life- The degree of overall satisfaction that a person gets from life.

3. Aspects of Life Physical health- how well your body functions.
Mental & Emotional health- Being comfortable with yourself, with others, and with your surroundings (mental). How you react to events in your life (emotional).
Social health- Being able to make and keep friends; how well you get along with others.
How well would you rate your overall physical, emotional and social health?

4. Continuum of health What is a continuum?
Many of the choices you make on a daily basis affect your position on the health continuum.
Examples: Not wearing a helmet, smoking, not exercising, daily eating natural fruits and veggies, being a good friend, etc.
A continuum is a gradual progression through many stages between one extreme and another.
A health continuum is the full range between “illness” and “wellness”.

6. Influences on health
Heredity- All traits that are passed biologically from parent to child.
Physical Environment- Includes both indoor and outdoor surroundings.
Ex: The quality of air you breath, exposure to noise, etc.

7. Influences on health continued
Social Environment- The people you spend time with- your family, friends, classmates, & other people in your community.
Ex: wash hands before eating, brush teeth before bed, friends who take risks, etc.
Culture- The beliefs and patterns of behavior that are shared by a group of people and passed from generation to generation. (part of social health)
Ex: Foods you choose to eat, if you display emotions or not, etc.

8. Influences on health continued
Media-forms of communication that provides entertainment.
Ex: Music, video games, movies, TV, internet, magazines, etc.
Technology- Advances in technology= good. Sites online can be good but also can be misleading or self serving.

9. Influences on health continued
Healthcare: Medical services- doctors, nurses, dentists, therapists- clinics and hospitals. Your health is influenced by the healthcare that is available to you & your family.
Behavior: Decisions and actions you take.
Habit- a behavior that is repeated so often it becomes automatic.

10. Evaluating Health Risks
A risk factor is any action or condition that increases the likelihood of injury, disease, or other negative outcome
Three ways you can evaluate a risk factor:
Consider both short- and long-term consequences
Decide whether you can control the risk factor
Analyze the possible benefits and risks of a decision

11. Taking responsibility for Your Health

12. A Healthy You Gaining Awareness Gaining Knowledge
Some health problems may be easy to recognize but it is important to take the steps to identify ones that might be less easily recognizable
Gaining Knowledge
Learn about any problems there may be
Warning signs, causes, risk factors, signs, studies, etc.

13. A Healthy You Building Health Skills Analyzing influences
Recognize the influence culture, media, and friends have on your health habits
Accessing information
Know how to find and evaluate health information
Communicating
Good communication skills allow you to resolve conflicts
Also help you express your opinions and show caring and respect for others

14. A Healthy You Making decisions Setting goals
Making good decisions is key to protecting your health
Use DECIDE process
Setting goals
Need an action plan: series of specific steps you can take to achieve the goal
Practicing healthful behaviors
Develop strategies for maintaining healthy behaviors and reducing risky behaviors
Advocacy
Involves using communication to influence and support others in making positive health decisions

15. A Healthy You Achieving Health Literacy
A person with health literacy has the ability to gather, understand, and use health information to improve his or her health
All of the above contribute to being a healthy you and health literate