Making Healthy Choices
Health Today
Health – the overall well-being of
your body, your mind, and your
relationships with other people.
Two Main factors
– 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.
Different Aspects of Health
Physical health
– How Well your body functions
Mental and Emotional health
– How sharp your mind is and how well
you react to events in your life
Social health
– How well you get along with others
The Health Continuum
Illness
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Low energy
Aches and pains
Illness
Negative outlook
Isolation
Wellness
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High energy
Enthusiasm
Sense of purpose
Feeling of well-being
Supportive
relationships
Identifying Health Risks
(section #2)
The factors that can influence health
include; heredity, environment,
media, technology, healthcare, and
behavior. – page 6 -
Heredity
All of the traits that are passed
biologically from parent to child.
Another part of you heredity is your
gender.
Example: with fair skin you are at
greater risk for skin cancer.
Environment
Social Environment
– People you spend
time with.
Physical
Environment
– All of the physical
conditions that
effect the body
Culture
The beliefs patterns of behavior that
are shared by a group of people and
passed on from generation to
generation. This is also part of the
social environment.
Media and Technology
Media
– Forms of communication that provide
news and entertainment.
Technology
– Advances in technology help doctors
improve the quality of healthcare.
Healthcare being available also has an
impact.
Behavior
Habit
– A behavior that is repeated so often that
it becomes automatic
Examples of good and bad habits?
Risk Factors
Non-Controllable
– Skin Color
– Heredity
Controllable
– Level of physical
activity
– Fat intake
SECTION 3
Healthy People 2010
National health organization with two
goals.
– Increase the years of healthy life for
each American.
– Eliminate differences in health based on
race, ethnic group, or income.
A Healthy You,
the three steps you can take to meet your personal health
goals
Gaining Awareness
– You must first be able to recognize health
problems before you can do anything about
them.
Gaining Knowledge
– Once you are aware of a problem you can take
steps to try to learn about the problem
Building Health Skills
– Knowledge is not very useful without the skills
to apply it
Health Skills
Analyzing Influences
– What kind of effects do the things around you
have on your decisions.
Accessing Information
– You will need to know how to find valid health
information
Communicating
– Being able to communicate your thoughts and
opinions can help you maintain close
relationships
Making Decisions
– Identify alternatives and make a
decision based on your values (define
values)
Setting Goals
– Helps transform knowledge into
behavior, with things like an action plan
which is a series of specific steps you
take to achieve a goal.
Practicing Healthful Behaviors
– Make sure your behaviors are healthy
and then practice them until they
become habit.
Advocacy
– Using communication to influence and
support others in making positive health
choices
Achieving “Health Literacy”
– The ability to gather, understand, and
use health information to improve
health.
Section 4
Healthy consumer choices
– Consumer – buys products or services
for personal use
What kind of things do you buy?
– Products?
Consumer Factors
Safety
– Is the product healthy, and or safe?
Cost
– Is it the best value vs other products?
Warranty
– An offer to repair or replace the product if
there is a problem
Consumer Testing
– Has testing been done to verify the claims of
the product?
FDA
Which would you choose?
Services
Important things to consider
– Are the service providers qualified?
Trainers, Doctors, Dentist
– Do the service providers have
references?
– Have there been any customer
complaints?
Information – to evaluate the health
information you also need to evaluate the
source of the information
Advertising
The public promotion of a product or
service.
Advertisements can let you know
what products are available, but they
rarely provide information needed to
make wise decisions.
Health Fraud
If a person tells lies to obtain money
or property they are guilty of FRAUD
Quackery – the selling of useless
medical products or treatments
Consumer Rights
As a consumer you have the right to
information, the right to consumer
protection by government agencies,
and the right to complain.