Promoting Health
Feldman: Modules 4-3 4-4
Santrock: Chapters 3 & 4
Assessing Health
The Bio-psycho-social Model
• Biological: body, brain, genetic factors
• Psychological: Lack of self-control,
emotional turmoil, negative
thinking/emotions, emotional stress
• Social: social, economic, technological,
religious aspects of cultures
Influences on Physical Growth &
Health
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Genetics
Infectious disease
Childhood injuries
Hormones
Emotional well-being
Nutrition
NUTRITION IN INFANCY
• Infants need about 50 calories per pound
per day: about twice the nutritional needs
of adults
• Breast feeding is better than formula and
is recommended by the American
Academy of Pediatrics for up to one year
NUTRITION IN INFANCY
Advantages of breast feeding
Correct balance of fat & protein
Protects against disease & tooth
decay
Easily digested
Better cognitive development &
visual acuity
NUTRITION IN INFANCY
Breast feeding lowers risk of:
later obesity
allergies
infections including diarrhea
and otitis media
cancer & breast cancer in
mother
SIDS
NUTRITION IN INFANCY
• Why mothers don’t breast feed.
– Inability
– Ignorance
– Inconvenience
– Illness (e.g., AIDS)
– Use of drugs
Malnutrition
• leads to smaller body size
• leads to learning & behavior problems
Attention, fine motor coord., IQ scores (effects
may be long-term or permanent.)
More of a problem in developing countries
Marasmus and Kwashiorkor
Malnutrition
marasmus
due to insufficient calorie intake
shrunken, wasted appearance
Kwashiorkor
protein deficiency
feet and abdomen swell with water
Malnutrition in Childhood:
United States
Some studies found iron, zinc, &
vitamin D deficiencies
WIC – Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women ,
Infants, and Children (7,500,000
low-income participants)
Teenage Nutrition
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Overall poor
Iron deficiency most common
Calcium deficiency due to bone growth
Obese children do not outgrow weight
problems
• Adolescent girls - fad dieting
• Obesity also a problem
Anorexia Nervosa
• Usually begins early to middle teens
• Starts with serious dieting & life stress.
• Most are female, high SES, white
• Competitive & high achieving
• Suffer malnutrition
• 6% die of physical complications or suicide
• Family therapy most successful treatment
Anorexia Nervosa
• Weigh less than 85% of normal for age
and height
• Intense fear of gaining weight that does
not decrease with weight loss
• Distorted image of body shape. Appear
fat to themselves even when very thin.
Bulimia Nervosa
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Binge and purge pattern
Fear of overweight
Depressed & anxious
90% women
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Damage throat, stomach, teeth
Some perfectionists, lack self-control
Guilty and desperate to get help
About 70% recover
Obesity: U. S. & Western Nations
There has been a marked rise in obesity in the
U.S. and other Western nations.
Percentage doubled since 1980;
quadrupled since 1965
U.S. may have 2nd highest rate
15% of U.S. children 6-11 overweight
Less common in African American than
white children; trend reverses in
adolescence
Consequences of Obesity
• Problems with social acceptance
• Stereotyped as lazy, sloppy, ugly, stupid,
self-doubting, deceitful
• Depressed, unhappy, bullied
• Risk for high blood pressure, cholesterol,
adult-onset diabetes, gallbladder disease,
some cancers, early death, sleep apnea,
hip problems
Treating Obesity
• Individual/clinical programs work best
(not school based)
• Exercise is key
• Moderate calorie restriction produces
best long-term results
• Behavioral therapy (e.g., keeping food
diaries) also effective
Nutrition Adult Dieting
• People who lost weight and maintain the
loss become less depressed and reduce
health risks.
• Studies comparing weight-loss programs
shows about equal effectiveness.
• The most effective programs include
exercise.
• Yo-Yo dieting may increase health risks.
Nutrition: Vitamins & Aging
• Those who take supplements show
improved health & physical functioning
• Protein supplements may increase muscle
mass
• Taking prescription drugs changes
nutritional needs, rates of absorption
• Effective doses, side-effects not known
Nutrition: Vitamins & Aging
• Antioxidants (A,C, beta carotene) may
slow aging & improve older adult health
• Vitamin C deficiency associated with
earlier death
• Vitamin E associated with reduced heart
risk
• Calcium, vitamin D delay osteoporosis.
• Zinc, B6, C, and E improve immune
function
• B vitamins improve cognitive function
Exercise
EXERCISE - CHILDREN
• Only 22 % of U.S. children in grades 412 are physically active for at least 30
minutes every day.
• Television & computer games are part
of the problem.
• Also other lifestyle issues
• The problem tends to increase as
children become adolescents.
Physical Education
• The average American school child
gets only 20 minutes of physical
education per week.
• Informal games should be
emphasized rather than organized
sports.
Exercise - Adulthood
• Only 15-20% of Americans get 20
minutes of exercise 5 times per week.
• Experts recommend that adults engage
in 45 minutes or more of moderate
physical activity on most or all days.
• Some experts stress aerobic exercise –
sustained activity that stimulates heart &
lung function (jogging, cycling,
swimming)
Exercise & Longevity
• In one study, people who were less fit
were more likely to die during the 8-year
course of the study.
• In another study of people in their 40s to
the 80s, beginning an exercise program
was associated with a 23% lower risk of
death.
Benefits of Exercise
• enhances the immune system.
• reduces body fat and builds muscle.
• linked with reduced rates of cancer,
especially colon cancer.
• strengthens the heart muscle and
produces HDL cholesterol
• reduces anxiety and depression, improves
mood, and enhances alertness and
energy.
Exercise & Aging
• Strength training as well as aerobic exercise is
recommended for older adults.
• Endurance training produces gains in vital
capacity to age 80 (oldest tested).
• Weight-bearing exercise promotes muscle size
and strength, blood flow to muscles to age 90
(oldest tested).
• Exercise increases blood circulation to the brain
& reduces cognitive declines.
Exercise & Aging (Singh, 2000)
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Minimizes aging, contributes to health
Optimize body composition (muscle v. fat)
Prevents common diseases
Improves treatment of some diseases
Helps prevent & treat disabilities
Counteracts side-effects of standard medical
care
• Linked to increased longevity
SUBSTANCE ABUSE &
ADDICTION
• Smoking is related to many deaths
– 30% of cancer deaths
– 21% of heart disease deaths
– 82% of chronic pulmonary disease deaths
Substance Use & Abuse
• By HS graduation, 22 % of teens
smoke, 60% have engaged in heavy
drinking at least once, 50+% have
experimented with illegal drugs
• Experimenters usually quit
• Abusers are more likely to be troubled
and tend to become addicted
Smoking
• Decreases delivery of oxygen to tissues
– Limited night vision, skin wrinkling, loss of bone mass,
lower sperm count, male impotence
• Causes heart rate and blood pressure to rise
• Increased risks of heart attack, stroke, and cancer of
the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, lungs,
pancreas, kidneys, and bladder
• Considered the single most important preventable
cause of death in industrialized nations
Substance Abuse
• Half of all smokers have quit. U.S. men
50% in 1965 to 25%.
• Most of the drop is among college
graduates,
• Decline among high-school students, but
smoking among college students has risen.
• Link between smoking and mortality is dose
related
Trends in Drug Use: University of Michigan
Institute for Survey Research
• Drug use among high-school students in the
U.S. declined (1980s), increased (1990s),
and has recently leveled off.
• U.S. still has the highest rate of adolescent
drug use of any industrialized nation.
• Increasing abuse of prescription and OTC
medications (oxycontin, vicodin, adderal)
How Can Drug Use be Prevented?
• Parental involvement
– Setting limits
– Monitoring
• Early risk factors (kindergarten)
– Male
– Substance-abusing parent
– Low level of parental reasoning
– Low level of problem-solving skills
Drinking in College & Early
Adulthood
• Almost half of U.S. college students
drink heavily.
• They report problems with missed
classes, grades, the police, physical
injuries, & unprotected sex
• About 44% binge drink, including 70%
living away from home
SUBSTANCE ABUSE &
ADDICTION
• 13 million people in the U.S. are
alcoholics
– Yearly 25.000 people are killed and 1.5
million injured by drunk drivers
– Alcohol is implicated in 65% of aggressive
acts by males against females
Substance abuse slows by mid-20s
• College students drink more than their age
counterparts.
• Those who don’t attend college smoke more.
• Singles use marijuana more than married.
• Drinking is heaviest among singles and
divorced.
• Religious people are less likely to take
drugs.