ALEISTER LEYTHAM

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

WRITTEN TEST

DISCUSS THE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT HEALTH

ILLUSTRATING HOW SUCH FACTORS CAN LEAD TO INEQUALITIES IN HEALTH
BEHAVIOUR. INCLUDE AT LEAST THREE EXAMPLES FROM SMOKING,
NUTRITION, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, ALCOHOL MISUSE, DRUG USE AND MISUSE
AND SEXUAL HEALTH.

Health is the general state of a person’s body and mind. To be in good health would mean to
be in a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease, to be in a state of balance. This piece will
be discussing factors which contribute to inequalities in health behaviour, using examples
from smoking, nutrition and physical activity. It will look at environmental affects and social.
The environmental effects are from the surroundings a person lives which influences the
behaviour. The social effects are class and from peers and other people who have influenced
behaviour. For example a child may develop certain lifestyles which are similar to their
parents because it is the norm. Environmental effects may be that a person may not exercise
regularly due to not having enough time or space in ones day to day routine.

Statistics have shown that people from lower class have a higher mortality rate

SMOKING

Smoking has proven to be a major concern for bad health and statistics have shown that it
kills thousands of people every year. Cigarettes contain over 4000 chemicals and at least 400
toxic substances. They increase the risk of asthma, cot death, bronchitis. Physically they can
cause shortness of breath, lack of energy, poor concentration, dull skin, premature wrinkling
of the skin. Smoking can reduce fertility and may put babies at risk. It also causes lung
cancer, stokes, heart attack and gangrene. It may also reduce other healthy behaviours such as
exercise and hygiene. Again the influences from smoking can be from social factors, as
people may be influenced by their peers or people around them who influence them to take
up the habit. It is highly addictive so once one becomes addicted it is very hard to quit. Over
the years advertising has been a big factor behind smoking, for example the promotion of

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women and their independence can be associated with smoking. (M, Mahheu, 1998).
Children whose parents smoke are twice as likely to start compared to those with non-
smoking parents. A Scottish study of teenage girls found that smoking was part of an image
cultivated by the girls who were seen as leaders of their groups. Smoking went along with
wearing short skirts, jewellery and make-up. In contrast, a study by the World Health
Organisation found that the 11 to 15 year olds who were most likely to be smokers were
lonely, had difficulty talking to parents, had problems at school and had started drinking
alcohol. Social learning theory describes how we learn by example from others. We are
strongly influenced by our parents, and other people we look up to, such as peers, actors and
pop stars. This can lead us to emulate their behaviour and try smoking. Peer pressure can be
hard for anyone to resist, no matter what your age. Smoking can play an important role in
friendships, while offering a cigarette or asking for a light can be ice-breakers to start a
conversation. It can create a bond between smokers, for example the huddled groups who
smoke outside offices. If your friends smoke, deciding to quit can be awkward because they
may see it as an implicit criticism of their habit.

Over the years television shows and films have effectively built up associations between
smoking and glamour, sex and risk-taking. (Leventhal H, & Cleary P, The smoking problem:
a review of the research and theory in behavioral risk reduction. Psychological Bulletin, 88:
370-405, 1980.) (2005).

NUTRITION

Nutrition has shown to be a big part in the health of individuals. The concerns which appear
from poor diets can cause high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks, causing deficiency
diseases such as scurvy, beriberi, and kwashiorkor; health-threatening conditions like obesity
and metabolic syndrome, and such common chronic systemic diseases as cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Nutrition may also hinder exercise and other good health
behaviours. Diseases such as anorexia and obesity are created from poor diets too. There are
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many foods which are unhealthy and environmentally foods which are unhealthy are often
easy to purchase and advertised openly which influence people to eat. The media may cause
anorexia an illness from poor health due to influencing people to be more skinny. Socially
people may not have the right kind of knowledge or understanding of what foods are healthy
and what are not.

Poor diet can have an injurious impact on health. Data from the National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS, 2006) indicates that the incidence of obesity in the United States continues
to be a significant problem in the adult and childhood population, in which 32 percent of
adults and 17.1 percent of children, ages two to 19, are classified as obese. Research has
shown that children of overweight and sedentary adults are more likely to be overweight and
sedentary, and that overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults
(Whitaker, Wright, Pepe, Seidel, & Dietz, 1997). Obesity among children is a growing health
concern across the United States because of disease-related issues that shorten the lifespan,
increase medical expenses, decrease work productivity, and contribute to immense
psychological and social issues (Dietz, 1998). Parental denial is said to be a contributing
factor to this issue, because many parents routinely deny that their children are overweight
and do not get enough exercise through regular physical activity (Hodges, 2003).

According to data from the NCHS (2006), rates of obesity in children between the ages of six
and 11 are highest among ethnic minorities, particularly Hispanic males (25.6%) and black
females (24.8%). There is evidence that the disparity in activity levels between ethnic
minorities and Caucasian adolescents may be attributed to the types of schools they attend.
Despite a more multicultural society, many schools in the United States remain racially and
ethnically segregated (Steinhorn & Diggs-Brown, 1999). In addition, there are differences in
the financial resources that are allocated to sport and recreational activities, and significant
gender issues pertaining to sport and recreational physical activity still persist (Richmond,
Hayward, Gahagan, Field, & Heisler, 2006).

The role of culture is important to consider when attempting to analyze and explain obesity
rates in ethnic minority populations. Culture influences the attitudes and beliefs toward
exercise, food and nutrition, body image and self-esteem, the use of language, and the role of
sexuality. Peralta (2003)...
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Low participation in health-enhancing physical activity substantially affects the population’s

health. Physical inactivity causes an estimated 600 000 deaths per year in the European
Region and leads to a loss of 5.3 million years of healthy life expectancy per year due to
premature mortality and disability. Physical inactivity has proven to affect health and can lead
to a number of risk factors such as coronary artery disease along with obesity, high blood
pressure, low cholesterol, diabetes, along with many more risks. The area one lives may
affect the amount of physical activity one does with things such as differences in the roads
and parks or crime rate, safety in the area or transport access to facilities of recreation, not
enough space due to cramming in neighbourhoods are all factors. A lack of time due to work
or family commitments, cost of equipment or gym membership, lack of facilities in the
nearby area, personal safety when exercising outdoors alone, poor weather or night-time
lighting, layout of the area may lesson chances for people in certain circumstances. There are
other reasons which may hinder physical activity due to the increase of daily tasks which are
time consuming, the increase of cars and travel. Statistics have shown there has been a
decline of physical activity over the past few decades. There is a decrease in physical work
due to new labour saving devices, with an increase of leisure inactive pursuits such as
watching television and computers also. Socially the effects which may hinder physical
activity are cultural differences, age, gender, background, peers, social class, attitudes and
beliefs of certain groups. People with lower incomes generally show less evidence of physical
activity with more chronic diseases and obesity associated with physical inactivity. This may
reflect transport difficulties, poor areas for space and recreational facilities. It may also be
more difficult to afford gym memberships and to take part in clubs due to social exclusion.
Gender differences seem to be a factor in physical activity, where it is evident that females do
considerably less exercise than males. This may be due to gender stereotyping with a lack of
support and programmes for females, it could also be a lack of time for females as
domestically they are challenged and

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