An Overview of the Health Problems in America
The United States of America is the one of the highly diverse nation in the world. According to the record numerous races are living together peacefully making up the total population of more than 318 million where Americans hold the position of majority that is 73.3% of the total population. Besides, African Americans, Asians and individuals from various countries include themselves under the population count of America. The lifestyle of the American people is partly responsible for the health issues they face. There are some common health problems, which become widespread and demand serious concern. Heart diseases, diabetes, obesity problem, depression are some chief concerns against which America needs to fight back. This essay will discuss about what kind of health issues are being faced by the Americans and in order to recover the health condition of the mass some probable solutions will be provided as well.
In order to promote better health condition, it is important to understand the health problems that Americans are dealing with. America is a vast country with large acres of farmland for cultivation and grazing cattle. The infrastructure is developed enough as far as food transportation is concerned. The availability of fresh meat ensures healthy food habit of the population. However, the reality is entirely different. The poor choice of foods and diet is responsible for the chronic health conditions of Americans. The lifestyle of Americans is much hectic yet they manage time to pursue their hobbies. Due to their busy schedule, they tend to depend on fast food chains and their diet includes a large amount of caffeine, carbohydrate and cheese. People having health concerns are expected to prefer healthier diet. However, the cosmopolitans face difficulty for adopting unhealthy food habits and high alcohol consumption. The most common heath issue they face is the epidemic of obesity throughout America. As they consume more calories than they expend, extra calories end up making them overweight. Moreover, they are not into physical activities much. Some people have habits of walking in the morning or after dinner yet depending on the work culture of America it is very difficult for them to manage the time to do so. Therefore, as a form of refreshment, American people prefer to spend leisure inside a restaurant or they like to have snacks while watching television than working out. They lack either the time or resources to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The Causes of Health Issues in America
There are places in America where grocery store is far from the locality and places with dense accommodation cannot provide areas for playing or any physical activity. The habit of consuming a high amount of caffeine, carbonated soft drinks and alcohol is mostly responsible for diabetes and heart diseases. A study estimates the fact that in America someone has a heart attack in every 43 seconds. Diet reflects an overall health condition of a human being and apart from physical health; mental or emotional heath is intensely related to one’s diet as well (O’Neil et al., 2014). According to a survey, a quarter of American population consider themselves as victim of depression. High level of stress may lead towards some chronic health issues including headache, insomnia or sleep disorder, muscle pain and finally they are diagnosed with hypertension or high blood sugar level (Brook et al., 2013). Consumption of cheese, chocolates, carbs, and various kinds of snacks preferably spicy is replacing the idea of having fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. A large measure of America’s young population is affected with serious health problems due to their unhealthy diet. (De, Liu, & Monga, 2014). They are inactive, unfit, and increasingly gaining weight. Childhood obesity has become a provocative question. The purpose of this essay is to elaborate the solutions that should be applied to promote the better health for the nation (Naidoo & Wills, 2016).
Eating disorder and absence of physical activity is the chief concern against which effective steps should be taken to improve overall national heath. The issues are significant enough as a healthy nation is the pillar of development. In the long run, may be it will be possible to reduce cardio-vascular diseases, children will be more interested in activities rather than watching television and having snacks (Jensen et al., 2014) (Siervo et al., 2015) . Since 1980, the percentage of young population who are suffering from obesity has doubled due to the practice of inactiveness. The idea of being fit or the practice of physical activity is considered, as one of the heath indicators and consuming healthy food is the main solution against all these problems (Webb, Donovan, & Meydani, 2014). In order to prevent heart disease also physical activity and consumption of fresh foods help immensely. However, Americans tend to depend on fast foods as it takes less time to cook. Processed foods are always available in supermarkets and due to their hectic work schedule; they opt for these foods rather than cooking fresh vegetables and meats from the market. A number of recommendations will be discussed in order to solve this issue. First, fitness awareness should to be circulated ( Vuori, Lavie & Blair,2013). People should understand the consequences of not having a fit body and mind. Regular exercise should be a part of lifestyle as it helps to develop a fit body followed by a healthy emotional state (Kruisselbrink Flatt, 2013). Thus, people from all the age group can actually be more productive if they can achieve a stable state of physical and emotional balance. The following solutions can be helpful if implemented properly.
The Importance of Physical and Emotional Health
In the year of 1995, American College of Sports Medicine and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention took an initiative to help the Americans with their health issues. A national guideline was published from their end on physical activity and public heath of America. American Heart Association endorsed and encouraged the guidelines. The purpose of this publication is to convey some recommendations to promote and maintain heath. It was clearly stated on that report that all healthy adults aged 18 to 65 years should practice moderate intensity exercises on a regular basis according to the health condition of an individual. As childhood obesity has been marked as a serious concern of America, guardians should have the clear idea about the requirement of daily activities and sports. ( Sobol?Goldberg, Rabinowitz & Gross,2013). Simultaneously, educating the children with the concept of fitness is necessary. Physical education or sports classes in school can encourage children the most to embrace a regular practice of activity (Vander Ploeg et al.,2014). Health departments of America and educational boards should take joint initiative to improve the infrastructure of schools so that they can arrange a better atmosphere for children to continue with activity classes. In order to carry out all these strategies; people should consider creative ideas, hard work and motivation. Schools, workplaces should encourage physical activity as physical and emotional health directly responsible for regular performance. Due to dense population and accommodation structure of the urban areas, there are very few places where people can actually walk or perform some activities. Communities should develop safe and well-maintained sidewalks, bicycle paths, parks where adults can practice physical activities as well. There is national chain of Gold gym yet for working professionals walking or cycling would be more convenient and less time consuming. Adults can always promote better health condition for themselves by avoiding excessive intake of caffeine and alcohol. Smoking is another bad practice, which is able to damage both physical and mental health. A balanced diet can be the answer of American’s damaged digestive system, insomnia and depression. Regular practice of physical activity is able to boost the metabolism of a human body, which is a positive sign as far as betterment of heath condition is concerned. (Salazar, Crosby, & DiClemente, 2015).
Hence, after discussing all the reasons behind ill health of American population and the probable solutions of the health issues it can be concluded that the scenario is transformable. The purpose of the health promotion in America is to enhance the quality of lifestyle. Progress will come with the successful implementation of all the objectives. The cost of leading a healthy life will reduce as well if all the strategies are executed in a correct way to make the situation better. It is important to create mass awareness about fitness. There are numerous reasons Americans give behind not participating in any kind of physical activity but above all if, American population is able to motivate themselves towards good health and start considering physical exercise as a part of their lifestyle then only the transformation in their health can be noticed.
References:
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