Taking Charge of Your Health Chapter One

Wellness: The New Health Goal Usually refers to the condition of a person’s body; the absence of injury or illness Wellness Multidimensional state of optimal well-being determined by the decisions you make Not limited to the absence of physical disease Dimensions of Wellness: Physical Emotional Intellectual Spiritual Social Environmental Occupational Financial . How is wellness defined? Transcends the idea of health, or the absence of physical disease and is determined by an individual’s personal decisions and includes a life lived in optimal personal, interpersonal and environmental well-being The Six Dimensions of Wellness Physical – Requires eating well, exercising, avoiding harmful habits, making responsible decisions about sex, learning about and recognizing the symptoms of disease, getting regular medical and dental checkups and taking steps to prevent injuries at home, on the road and at work. Emotional – Optimism, trust, self-esteem, self-acceptance, self-confidence, self-control, satisfying relationships and an ability to share feelings are some qualities/aspects of emotional health. Spiritual- To possess a set of guiding beliefs, principles or values that give meaing and purpose to your life and others, esp. during difficult times. Involves the capacity for love, compassion, forgiveness, altruism, joy and fulfillment Intellectual- An openness to new ideas, a capacity to question and think critically, and the motivation to master new skills as well as a sense of humor, creativity and curiosity. Interpersonal and Social -Satisfying relationships. Satisfying the need for loving, supportive people in our lives. Environmental or Planetary-Safety of the food supply to the degree of violence in a society. Safety from UV radiation and air and water pollution, lead in old house paint and second-hand tobacco smoke in indoor air. Learning about and reducing exposure to such hazards

Wellness: The New Health Goal The six dimensions of wellness interact continuously influencing and being influenced by one another. Making a change in one dimension often affects some or all of the others Ex. Improving on your spiritual wellness may help increase your interpersonal and social wellness Malaise:vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness. 2. A general sense of depression or unease The Wellness Continuum

Terms to Know Health vs. Wellness Morbidity rate - the relative incidence of disease among a population Mortality rate - the number of deaths in a population in a given period of time Infectious disease- a disease that can spread from person t person, caused by microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, etc.) Chronic disease -a disease that develops and continues over a long period of time

Wellness: Then and Now In the1900’s ~Lifespan = 47 yrs. Most died from infectious disease An Infectious disease is easily spread from one person to another (bacteria & viruses) After 1900’s vaccine & antibiotic development reduced # of infectious diseases Since the 1900’s ~Life span has doubled Currently, most die from chronic disease A chronic disease: develops and continues over a long period of time Most can be prevented to some degree In the 1900’s people struggled just to stay alive into their 50’s due to infectious disease The development of vaccines and antibiotics helped reduce the number of deaths due to infectious disease Today chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death, all of which can be prevented to some degree; The best treatment for these is prevention Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death Followed by obesity and alcohol use

Wellness: Then and Now

The Healthy People Initiative; Healthy People 2020 Major Objective: 1. Eliminate preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death

The Healthy People Initiative Major Objective 2. Achieve health equity, eliminate disparities and improve health of all groups Why would the U.S. government be concerned about a healthy population? A healthy population is the nations’ source of vitality, creativity and wealth and poor health among the population drains the nation’s resources and raises health care costs for all There are two broad goals in the Healthy People 2010 Initiative: Increase quality and years of healthy life. Sick days among Americans is a measure of how we can’t function normally due to illness. Although life expectancy has increase poor health often limits those who live longer so that’s why quality of health is just as important as increasing life expectancy. Eliminate health disparities among Americans. Many health problems affect certain populations disproportionately, like ethnic populations, people of low socioeconomic status or educational attainment and people with disabilities. Healthy People 2010 calls for eliminating disparities in health status, health risks, and use of preventitive services among all population groups.

The Healthy People Initiative Major Objective 3. Create social and physical environments that promote health

The Healthy People Initiative Major Objective 4. Promote healthy development and healthy behaviors across every stage of life

Leading Causes of Death in the U.S. Heart disease: 614,348 Cancer: 591,699 Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 147,101 Accidents (unintentional injuries): 136,053 Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 133,103 Alzheimer's disease: 93,541 Diabetes: 76,488 Influenza and pneumonia: 55,227 Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, & nephrosis: 48,146 Intentional self-harm (suicide): 42,773 Data for 2014 from CDC

Factors That Influence Wellness Health habits Heredity/Family history Genome: entire amount of genetic material (DNA) in a persons cells Favorable and unfavorable genes are inherited that decrease/increase risk of disease Environment Exposure at home, workplace, community Access to Health care Poverty seems to be one the biggest barriers to health care Access to health care helps prevent many diseases There are many examples of how health habits are related to our health Health habits Cancer and smoking Unhealthy diet and obesity Sedentary lifestyle and obesity/heart disease Walking and maintaining our weight Balanced diet and preventing many chronic diseases Heredity/Family History Consider the genome which is the complete set of genetic material in your cells. And Genes control the production of proteins that play a structural and regulatory role in your body. Errors in genes are responsible for ~3500 hereditary conditions Ex. Sickle cell and cystic fibrosis Environment What you are exposed to at home, in the workplace in the community you live in impact your wellness Family members that may abuse alcohol or drugs Access to health care Poverty seems to be one of the biggest barriers to health care Access to health care helps to prevent many diseases Ex. Vaccinations, regular checkups

Getting Serious About Your Health Examine current health habits Choose a Target Behavior Defined as: One behavior you want to change; start simple Learn About Your Target Behavior Find Help

Changing Your Behavior Set Realistic Goals Your behavior change goals should be SMART SPECIFIC MEASURABLE ATTAINABLE REALISTIC TIME-FRAME SPECIFIC

Transtheoretical Model of Change Precontemplation No intention of changing; belief that a problem does not exist Contemplation Recognize a problem and begin to contemplate the need to change Preparation Plan to take action, and may have a plan Action Begin to follow action plans or outwardly modify behavior Maintenance Have maintained a behavior for at least six months; Vigilance, attention to detail, and long-term commitment Termination New behavior has become an essential part of daily living; exited the cycle of change and no longer tempted to lapse back into old behavior

Taking Charge of Your Health Chapter One