Health and social care, OCR Nationals double award promoting health and well being

Health and Social Care

Unit 2 Promoting Health and Well-Being

chandima

Introduction.

This coursework will be based on unit 2, which is promoting health and well-being. I will look at understanding health and well being by including positive, negative and holistic definitions of health. Further, I will consider different aspects and cultures, which affect health. I am going to observe a client and analyse the PIES while taking health measures for him. In the end of my assessment, I would set targets for my client to improve his health and also provide leaflets and brochures and include information from experts to motivate him to stick to the plan. I will make him aware about the effects a bad lifestyle may have on him. This coursework is laid in sections as section A, B, C and D. Section A will contain definitions of health, how cultures look at health and the history of the health care sector; how it changed over time. In section B, I will look at factors affecting health and will also introduce my client while looking at the factors affecting his PIES. In section C, I will collect life style records of Mr. Jayaweera, who is my client to look at his PIES in detail and prepare health plans. Section D will look at how my plans are SMART. This will give a description about how the plans will benefit my client.

Note: The bracketed information at the end of some sentences refers to the bibliography.

E.g.: (Bib.1) refers to the first source in the bibliography “GCSE Health and Social Care for OCR. (Text book)”

Section A

Defining Health.

This section, is mainly based on understanding health and well-being.

Different people look at health in different ways. It can depend on their culture, environment, religion or age group. In order to have a clear understanding about how the people look at health, I have conducted a survey from a random sample of people who belongs to the above groups (e.g. people of different ages have been chosen).

Please refer to the survey. Appendix 1

By looking at what different people say about health, it is clear that each one look at it differently. Therefore, there are many ways to define health. When we look at health, all physical, intellectual, emotional and social aspects should be considered because they all affect our health equally. Health can be defined in many ways, positively, negatively and holistically. It depends on how the individuals look at their health and how concerned they are about it. Our state of healthiness will depend on many things such as where do we live, what job do we do, what do we eat, who are our friends and everything else related to our lifestyle. Our choice about our lifestyle can make a difference to our health. If we are interested enough in ourselves, we can improve our own health. Some people think, that it depends only on the health care we obtain; however, it doesn’t only depend on this. It is connected to our lifestyle as well.

Firstly, looking at the positive definition of health, it is a positive concept, highlighting social and personal resources together with physical capacities. According to the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This definition of health has not been changed since 1948. (Bib.2) By referring to my survey, I have found that, the first person that is an adult has been successful up to a certain extent in defining health, more than the rest of the people. Therefore, it proves that their age group will affect the definition of health by different people. If a person is having a disability or disease, they have a more tendency to think that they are not healthy only because of their disability or disease despite their age group. Looking at the fourth person’s answer in my survey can prove this. As he is old and is not fit enough to do his own work, he thinks that he is not healthy. However, by looking at health positively, he should consider his emotional, social and intellectual aspects of health as well as the physical health. According to my textbook, which is the “GCSE Health and Social Care for OCR”, it is the “achievement and maintenance of physical fitness and mental stability”. Basically, it is feeling generally healthy. However, many people do not include their mental and social well-being, if they are asked to say what health is (Bib.1). This was also proved by my survey. Nevertheless, it also must be taken into account. A positive definition of health should consider every aspect of our health such as physical and mental, as said in the above definitions.

Secondly, where the negative definition of health is concerned, some people believe that health is merely the absence of illnesses, injuries or diseases. Most of them only consider the physical aspects of their health. Again according to the survey, a child defined health as the ability to do hard work and be physically active in terms of running, jumping and carrying. Therefore it is clear that this person has also considered only the physical aspects. Therefore, as said before, the different age groups could have various definitions on health. However paying an attention only on physical aspect could reflect the health in a negative way. According to my textbook, “achievement and maintenance of physical fitness and mental stability” falls into the negative definitions of health (Bib.1).

Finally, it is very important to give a holistic definition to health. In general, a holistic view means looking at something in each and every aspect taking into account everything such as physical, intellectual, emotional and social characteristics. The person will be very accurate when they define health, if they take a holistic approach to their health.

(Bib.3)

According to the above figures given in the above Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, each aspect has been given a position in order of their importance placing the most important one at the bottom. This makes it clear that everything, (regardless the level of their importance) is important to us. There are different ways to keep up the health status up to the standard such as using medication, being on healthy diet, getting enough rest and doing appropriate exercise. In addition to that, health can be treated in holistic ways too. Some of them are as follows:

Counselling
Yoga
Psychotherapy
Massage
Acupuncture
Meditation

After having an observational research on health and its definitions, I would conclude that to keep up appropriate health we should have healthy lifestyle in terms of physical, intellectual, emotional and social aspects.

Well-being

As this unit is based on promoting health and well-being, it is highly important to have concerns on well-being as well. According to the World Health Organisation, well-being explains our happiness, confidence, physical condition and general outlook of our life. It is about caring ourselves and feeling good. Well-being and living healthily go hand-in-hand. It goes beyond eating a balanced diet and taking regular exercises. It is about being aware about our life and reducing the risks of diseases. Our daily routine could decide the state of our well-being. (Bib.4)

Cultures.

Great Britain is a multi cultural society. The culture is a way, which is followed by a group of people. They eat, dress, behave and believe in the same way. It may be unique to that particular group. It affects their way of life and therefore their health as well. It is very important that the health care sector and the organisations respect beliefs of each culture.

For example, a Christian faith group, Jehovah’s Witness urge their follower’s to refuse blood transfusions. (Bib.12) But according to medical science, blood transfusions can save a person’s life. In another instance, Muslims don’t take pork, although animal flesh is a good source of protein. Proteins are needed for the build up of our muscles. To work properly and to be physically fit, we need to have healthy muscles. Therefore this can affect their physical health. Sometimes, the people chose to be vegetarians or vegans either following their religion or for their personal beliefs. This can lead them to be lack of proteins, as meat, eggs and other animal products are good sources of proteins. As said before, protein is very important even for making hormones. This is vital for our growth. Therefore where the PIES are concerned, it is clear that not taking animal products could also affect a person’s development. Further, this can lead our intellectual development to grow less as well because a good physical health is important to have a good memory and thinking.

Another example of how different cultures consider is the fasting practise of Muslims. However, it is not good for our health to get rid of meals because it has been found that this can lead to weight loss, stomach problems including ulceration, dehydration and also changes have been observed in daily lifestyle and mental-health status. (Bib.5) Apparently, looking at our PIES it is clear from the above disorders that this can also affect both our physical and mental health. Nevertheless, as it is linked to their culture and tradition, they don’t bother much about their health. Further, covering their body by Muslim ladies could lead to vitamin D deficiency as they are not exposed enough to sunlight causing possible rickets. On the other hand, this could be positive to avoid unnecessary exposure to sunlight avoiding risks of skin cancers. So it is clear that the cultural belief and the person’s background can affect their health positively as well. Being a Buddhist, I believe it is not right taking alcohol and drugs for a healthy life. This is another example, which shows how the background of people affects their way of thinking. As different cultures and religions consider health in different ways, it is important that doctors should be aware of cultural beliefs when treating patients.

According to the beliefs and places of living of a person may cause them to have less access to medical treatments. For example, a study carried out among the people living in Southern Virginia has found out that they were lacking of medical knowledge and that they distrusted the physicians. They have claimed that most of their people were obsessed and they liked to eat much but not doing exercise. Although it wasn’t said in the study report what foods they ate, I thought that they might be eating too fatty and sugary foods, as they are some causes of obesity. Further, I got to know by reading the study, that these Virginians didn’t discuss health problems with outsiders. It is also said that this may be due to the lack of medical knowledge. I thought this might prevent them from getting suitable care. As the people distrusted the specialist, they do not take medicines prescribed by them. They think that these drugs may cause addiction. In addition, according to the participants in the study, there is a lack of American-born physicians. At the same time, the people in the area were having some concerns in meeting foreign-born physicians. This cultural difference between the patient and the provider has been identified as a barrier, which prevents the patients getting medial care. (Bib.6) I thought this to be a good example to show the effects of cultural beliefs on people and their health. In third world countries, the people might not be in good hygienic conditions such as less purified water systems, poor housing and air pollution. This could also lead to illnesses and diseases.

Some other examples of how different cultures look at their health are the Chinese treatments and the way some cultures treat patients using plants and herbs found from the forests.

Although people from different cultures look at health in different ways, each person’s health is alike and will be affected in the same way. Therefore, it is important that we look at it in a positive manner.

How our environment affect our Health

Our environment is a main factor that could affect our health. A person must wisely choose where to live. However, in some circumstances there is no choice for people to decide. If we are living in a place where good hygiene is lacking, we’ll get infections and diseases very easily. Our physical health will be very weak. As said before, in the ancient time, there were no much good conditions for people to live. It was lacking of good hygiene. We will have a bad physical health due to diseases and illnesses caused by the dirty environment. Going much further, when we look at different countries, there is a big difference in the environments. For example, in developing countries, there are many diseases and lot of people have poor housing. Environment pollution can be seen greatly, in some areas where there are many factories and traffic. So these things can affect our health in a negative way. Another example is our neighbours. If a person lives in an environment with bad neighbours, which doesn’t suit him the person will be stressed easily and he’ll have less accompany with the neighbours. This will affect his emotional health and social health. Therefore, it is important that we live in a peaceful and environmental friendly place. It is important to refer to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, again. The second row of the pyramid, from the bottom talks about safety. I think this, depends mostly on our environment. For example, if we live in an area where there are lots of thieves, we might be unable to protect our belongings and ourselves. We will have to live in stress and fear. This can affect our emotional health.

A Change in Health Care.

In the past people were not provided with good health care. The health care system in Britain was poor and it did cost a lot of money to treat an illness. Many children died of illnesses and there weren’t any modern techniques to treat illnesses and diseases. The working class thought it as a nightmare to become ill. There was a lack of doctors. They didn’t bother to work for a less salary. Lot of fund raising had to be done in order to develop the health care sector. The number of babies dying from illnesses increased. In 1948 July 5th, Nye Bevan established the NHS. As a citizen in the early Britain, he had experienced the problems of the health care system. Many of his siblings had died.

Further, as there was poor housing in the past, the people hadn’t been able to bear the weather. For example, in wintertime, they didn’t have heaters or better warm clothes to protect themselves. Therefore, they had to suffer badly from the weather. The people were not living in clean environments. They were lack of good hygiene. This could also lead to illnesses. The food they ate was not in a good state. They didn’t eat in a suitable place. All these factors could affect our physical development. For example, we could get skin diseases and infections due to lack of cleanliness. Maslow’s pyramid would be useful in this stage as well.

As I said before, the vital needs are placed at the bottom to show that these support the needs at the top. The bottom section contains breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis and excretion. It is clear that having poor housing and a bad environment can make us loose these things. In addition, excretion is an important part in our life processes. Not having an appropriate toilet will also reduce our hygiene. When we are not in a proper physical state, our mental health will also be weak.

As time went on, technical developments lead to an improvement in the health care sector as well. New medical equipments were invented and new medicines were produced. Further, immunisations were introduced to dangerous viruses. As a result, the people’s life expectancy increased.

1948 July 5th: Establishment of the NHS. This provided free health care for the public.

1952: Introduction of the prescription charges. The government couldn’t afford to provide everybody with free services so in 1952 prescription charges of one shilling was introduced.

When considering as a whole, in my research, I found that the NHS has changed in two ways over time.

Accessibility and Funding.
Methods providing health care.

Accessibility and Funding:

A labour government passed the national health care act in 1946, which resulted in a change to the health care service. It is said that the people are capable of having free health care. It was helpful for the great change in 1948, which is the launch of the NHS. However, it had been not easy for the government to provide free health care for everybody so later some charges for prescriptions and other items have been introduced. In 1990, another act had been introduced which encouraged the hospitals and other health care establishments to become trusts and control the money they receive by the government, themselves instead of the local authorities doing it for them.

Methods providing health care:

One example for this is the invention of antibiotics and the invention of other methods such as heart transplantation in 1968, which made a great difference in this sector. Many modern technical types of equipments were invented over time and this enabled the doctors to save many people’s lives. Further, the baby care changed and the mothers were advised on how to care their babies, such as the way to lay them safely in order to prevent cot death. (Bib. 1)

Section B

Factors affecting Health and Well being

In this section, I will look at the negative and positive factors affecting a person’s health and well-being.

Some of the positive factors affecting health and well-being are:

Good relationships- A person must become socialised and be able to exchange ideas among his friends. They must have the approval of the other members of the society. They must have somebody to express their feelings. Good relationships make a person socialised and builds up confidence while improving both a person’s emotional and social health.
A good financial state- People must be capable of leading happy lives while being able to buy what they want and to enjoy life. It is very important that people to have enough money to afford any health care they need. Further, a good financial state will enable us to eat a balanced diet by allowing us to buy any food. This can improve our physical health. So a good financial state helps in that way. This too improves our social health because we’ll be more approved among the friends and the peer group. In addition, this can improve our emotional health because a rich person lives happily more than a poor one and he feels that he is complete.
A better job - A better job is very important because this is the way we can have a good financial state. In addition, a good job will build our confidence and self-esteem. Therefore, this is also a factor, which can develop our emotional health. If we are doing a satisfactory job, we will be able to get the acceptation of many friends. Therefore, this affects our social health as well.
Living in a peaceful environment- Living in a peaceful environment can make us happy and we will be able to enjoy life. Drug addictives, thieves, murderers and criminals are examples of bad neighbours. A peaceful neighbourhood allows us to live happily. This is a good factor affecting our emotional health positively. In this way, if we have peaceful and calm neighbours, we can easily develop our social health, as they will make good friends for us.
Balanced diet- Taking a balanced diet is very important to lead a healthy life. Our body will be able to work long hours without getting tired easily. Our diet must contain a good selection of foods containing:

Carbohydrates: this contains glucose and this is the primary source of energy for our body. We gain energy through foods, which contain glucose, (carbohydrates). (Bib.7)

Proteins: The main role of proteins is to help in the growth and repair of body cells. However, it can also be used as a source of energy.

Fats: This can also be used as a source of energy. By getting under the skin, this acts as a covering and provides us with warmth. However, containing excess fat in our body can affect us badly.

Fruits and vegetables: They come together. If we follow the five-a-day guideline, we will take five portions of fruits or vegetables a day. They provide us with necessary vitamins and minerals. There are many types of vitamins such as vitamin C, D, E and etc. Different vitamins have different functions. For example, vitamin C is important for healthy gums, vitamin A gives us good eyesight and vitamin K helps in the blood clotting. We can also get fibre through eating some vegetables. Fibre helps in our digestive system. (Bib.8)

Diary products: They are also very important. Milk, cheese and etc are diary products. They contain calcium, fats and vitamins. They too play an important role in our health.

Not having a balanced diet affects us as equally as getting a balanced diet. Some of the bad effects are, obesity (through carrying lot of body fat and too many sweets), diabetes, (taking too much foods containing glucose [carbohydrates]), cholesterol (through too many fatty foods) and heart disease. We can increase our life expectancy through maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. Therefore, our diet is playing an important role to maintain a good physical health.

Exercises- Together with a good diet, regular exercises also play a role in our health. This helps us to maintain a healthy life by making our muscles fit and making us active while improving our physical health. Exercise is very important for everybody. It can prevent many diseases.

There are two types of exercises:

Aerobic exercises
Anaerobic exercises

Aerobic exercises set energy by using aerobic respiration. It is the release of energy with the use of oxygen and sugar. Examples of aerobic exercises are: swimming, walking, jogging and brisk walking. (Bib.10)

Anaerobic exercises are to do with anaerobic respiration, which doesn’t require oxygen but does need sugar. It releases energy with lactic acid. (Bib.11) Examples of anaerobic exercises are: sprinting, weight lifting, push-ups and pull-ups.

Exercises prevent us becoming obessed and give us a healthy and beautiful body shape. Exercises keep us fit ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

There are two types of exercises:

Aerobic exercises
Anaerobic exercises

Exercises prevent us becoming obessed and give us a healthy and beautiful body shape. Exercises keep us fit by boosting our muscles. It also increases our life expectancy. It is recommended that a person should exercise regularly. Further, it is found through research that being physically unfit is same as smoking in terms of the life expectancy. (Bib.31) It is said by the NHS that lack of exercise, can lead to heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol and obesity. In addition, we can get breathless through being not physically fit. Some of the advantages of exercise are as follows.

Lowers the risk of heart disease.
Provides with natural pain relief.
Improves confidence.
Helps manage your weight.

(Bib.13)

Meditation- During the past years, universities in the United States, Europe and India have done researches on the effects of meditation. They have found how it benefits a person’s body, emotions, mental functioning, and relationships. This is a way of treating our body holistically. These are some of its benefits:

·Deeper Level of Relaxation
· Natural Change in Breathing
· Decrease in Stress Hormone
· Reduction in Cholesterol
· Increased Self-Actualisation
· Decreased Cigarette, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse
· Improved Relations at Work
· Increased Relaxation and Decreased Stress
(Bib.37)

Some of the negative factors of health are:

Smoking- It can make a person ill with diseases such as Bronchitis, Emphysema, Stroke and etc. More seriously it can make a person breathless. These are some of the physical effects. Further, smoking isn’t only a risk for the smoker. This can expose the people around them making them passive smokers. Their health will also be affected. As a result of smoking, our financial state can get lower. We’ll be addicted to it, which can waste our money. A smoker will be regarded badly in front of non-smokers. This can affect their social health. In addition, being poor by wasting money on smoking is also an aspect, which could affect our social health. (Bib.14)
Alcohol- This is another factor affecting a person negatively. Exceeding the sensible levels of drinking can cause depression, the drinker loses his memory, it can lead to high blood pressure, cirrhosis and etc. These are some of the physical effects. Further, we’ll lose money wasting on alcohol and will be unable to get rid of the addiction later. A drinker will be regarded less in front of people who don’t drink. So this can affect a person’s social health. Further, a heavy drinker will lose alertness and will act in an unsuitable way. This can affect their social health as well. Furthermore, not having a good concentration on what we are doing will affect how we think. This could make us forget things. So drinking alcohol can affect our intellectual health as well.
Not having a good job- This is a factor, which affect our emotional and social health. If we don’t have a good job, we will be unable to meet our own and our family needs. A poor person doesn’t get the approval of the others in the society as rich people do. Further, our job decides the status in our society. The people will measure us according to that. Therefore, getting the approval of others and being socially isolated if we don’t get their approval will affect our emotional and social health. A good job will build our confidence and self-esteem. (Bib. 15)

Being socially isolated and taking illegal drugs are two of other factors, which affect our health negatively. Taking illegal drugs is not good for our health, while it also becomes a threat to our financial state. A drug addictive will be unable to stay without taking it for a long time. This will be very difficult to get rid of later. Our physical health will be affected. It is clear that being socially isolated will affect our social health and therefore our emotional health.

Client

Now I am going to introduce my client chosen for this piece of coursework. As a way of getting knowledge about his PIES, I will produce a questionnaire for him to answer. It will help me to understand how the factors affect him positively or negatively and how he spends his life.

Please refer to the Questionnaire. Appendix 2

Positive Factors

This section is based on analysing the factors affecting Jayaweera positively.

Jayaweera is a teacher and I found out that he spends lot of time travelling to provide tuition for his students. He has a very busy lifestyle. Although Jayaweera doesn’t take regular exercises, I think his job is a good factor, which keeps him fit. So as said in section B, being physically fit will increase our confidence and protect us from illnesses. Therefore, exercises can improve Jayaweera’s physical health. Increasing confidence means that his emotional health will also be improved. Going further, if Jayaweera is fit and strong, he will be regarded greatly by his friends. Therefore, exercise is also good to develop his social health.

As Sri Lanka is a sunny island, he spends lot of time in the sun. As said before, he travels to his job and this enables him to be in the sun for long hours. Sunlight can provide him with UV radiation so Jayaweera gets lot of vitamin D. Lack of vitamin D cause rickets. So Jayaweera will not suffer from rickets. Further, lack of vitamin D can also lead him to have osteoporosis. He will be able to enjoy the benefits of vitamin D such as having a healthy skin. This can also improve his physical health.
As a teacher, Jayaweera spends lot of time with children and his colleagues at school and also when he is at tuition. So this is a factor, which affects Jayaweera’s health positively. This makes him more socialised and improves his emotional health. I think, when somebody spends time with children, it makes him calm and happy. Further, being socialised builds his self-esteem and confidence. In that way, his social health will also be developed.

Jayaweera is enjoying a good state of intellectual health. His brain is always in action, while being a maths teacher as it involves counting and thinking. Being in a good state of intellectual health also helps him to take right decisions in life.
Jayaweera’s favourite food is string hoppers (an Asian food made of flour-contains lots of carbohydrates). So he gets lots of carbohydrates. He also gets lot of energy through this, as carbohydrates are a good source of energy while giving him a good state of physical health. This provides enough energy for Jayaweera to get on with his job, being in the sun for long hours. Therefore, two jobs are done. This improves his physical health.
Jayaweera lives in Matara (southern part of Sri Lanka and this is a coastal area). The people living in coastal areas are more likely to eat seafood than the rest of the population. Therefore Jayaweera adds lots of seafood to his diet. It provides him with proteins and it is essential for the growth and repair of our body. This will help Jayaweera to develop his physical health.
Jayaweera isn’t addicted to illegal drugs. So he could benefit from that as drugs can lead him to lose his concentration and he will feel depressed, sleepy and less calm. Further, as I have mentioned before, Jayaweera will be unable to control his money. Drugs will make it impossible for Jayaweera to concentrate well, and do his task. So he needs all these things to be a good teacher as it involves working with children. I think Jayaweera can be a good teacher and also enjoy a healthy life by not using illegal drugs.
Jayaweera enjoys being a teacher. It builds up his confidence and self-esteem knowing that he is doing a good job. He will also have more of his friends’ approval while doing a good job. This factor improves both his social and emotional health.

Negative Factors.

I will look at the negative factors affecting Jayaweera’s health and well-being.

Jayaweera thinks that he spends a busy life. He thinks that his life style prevents him from exercising while it leaves him no extra time. In addition, he doesn’t get a chance to walk as he drives his motorcycle. This prevents him being exercised at least by walking. As a result of his busy lifestyle, he isn’t doing exercises on a regular basis. However, it is recommended that a person should take regular physical exercises. As said above, lack of exercises has negative factors such as breathlessness, obesity and etc. He will be unable to enjoy a good physical health.
As Sri Lanka is a sunny place, Jayaweera spends lot of his time in the sun, while travelling to work and in other circumstances as well. This has both advantages and disadvantages. However, he is not interested in applying any sun creams or other precautions to protect him from the UV radiation. Too much exposure to sunlight can give him skin cancer. This is another fact, which affects his physical health.
Jayaweera drinks one or two units of alcohol per day. At the moment, he is within the recommended rates of drinking. Although this isn’t a risk for his health, this can lead him to waste money. Drinking costs him lot of money so he is losing money on drinking. Loosing money and having a bad financial state could make him stressed and affect his emotional health. Further, if he gets addicted to drink highly, it can lead him to lose concentration. However, as a teacher, Jayaweera must look after himself as he works with children. Jayaweera must be conscious and alert about what he is doing or else it will take his intellectual health down and make him not do the job well. Therefore, it would be fine, if Jayaweera continues to drink within the recommended levels without getting over that.
He smokes 21 cigarettes per day. Smoking leaves a great risk for his health through many diseases. Cigarettes contain nicotine, which affects his health badly. Some risks of smoking are bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancers and stroke. In addition, he is spending a lot of money on cigarettes, which can be used on something useful. So smoking is also a factor, which affects a person’s financial state. This could make his emotional health and social health bad. In addition, friends who don’t smoke, taking his social health down, could less approve him. Further, smoking could leave the people around him at risk, making them passive smokers.
Jayaweera isn’t taking a balanced diet right now. String hoppers, which he is used to eat a lot is made of flour, which contain lots of carbohydrates. At the same time, Jayaweera is suffering from diabetes. However, taking too many carbohydrates is not good enough for a person who is suffering from diabetes, as it could increase the level of sugar in his blood. As he prefers to eat lots of string hoppers, he could increase the level of sugar in his blood to a great level. Sometimes Jayaweera tends not to take any meals if he is too busy. This is mostly his breakfast. However, his breakfast is very important for him as this provides him energy to work for a long until his lunch. Not taking this will lead him to loose his concentration and be weak to do his job. It is important that Jayaweera takes a balanced diet every day. An unbalanced diet can have many bad effects on him such as making his blood sugar level worse, making him obsessed, giving him cholesterol and etc, as said in section B. It is very important that he concentrate on his physical health more, because if not, he will not be fit enough to work long hours and to do his job well. Not taking a balanced diet is a major factor, which can affect a person’s physical health.

Jayaweera leads a busy life, working mainly in the daytime. But our body is like a rechargeable battery, which cannot keep going without recharging and our body gets this through sleep and rest. I think Jayaweera needs to find some more time to spend at home to rest. Not resting well and not having enough sleep could cause him illnesses and he’ll also be unable to do his job well. He will be stressed and tired throughout the day. This can affect both his physical health and emotional health. If somebody hasn’t got enough sleep, the others around him will be able to recognise that. The person will be unable to communicate with others well. This could lead him to decrease the state of social health. Jayaweera needs to work long hours with children while teaching so he need some more rest.

Section C

This section is based on collecting lifestyle records of Jayaweera and while analysing them, to give targets for him to improve his health. I will look at his diet style and how he exercises. In addition, two measures of health will be collected and it will be compared with the normal parameters.

Profile of my client.

My client is Jayaweera. He is 50 years old and lives with his wife and two children in the coastal area (Matara) of Sri Lanka. His two children attend Matara Rahula College. They lead a happy life together.

Jayaweera is a Maths teacher and he teaches in St. Thomas College Matara. His profession makes him a busy person. Jayaweera conducts tuition classes to GCSE pupils on most weekdays, after school. In addition, sometimes he gets to teach pupils off lessons after school. His busy lifestyle seems to make him more active as he has to travel to work and to his tuition then and there. However, Jayaweera drives his motorcycle to where ever he goes. So this can be a disadvantage for him because it prevents him from walking at least for a shorter distance. Jayaweera seems to be less physically fit because he also suffers from diabetes. At the same time, Jayaweera isn’t very much concerned about his diet, because he sometimes misses his breakfast. I think that a person should cleverly choose what to eat, by taking into account the nutritional value of them, because they each have an importance to our health. Jayaweera’s favourite food is string hoppers. It is a food mainly made from completely flour. Therefore string hoppers contain lots of carbohydrate. However, carbohydrates are not good for diabetes, so this proves that Jayaweera isn’t concerned bout his meals. He eats lot of string hoppers and also rice, because I also found out that Jayaweera is used to have a plate of rice on many mornings before leaving home. It is important to say that our diet affects our health very much and it can lead to many diseases. For this reason, I thought it good to prepare a plan considering his diet.

Although exercise is important for a healthy life, Jayaweera isn’t exercising himself daily. However, his job keeps him a bit active although he uses his motorcycle. Not being exercised enough can lead people put at risk of obesity, heart diseases and etc. So I thought this would be a good factor, which I can improve from my health plans. Jayaweera smokes about 21 cigarettes per day. However, this is also a factor, which cause him diseases. This can also cause diseases to people around him. But Jayaweera is so concerned about his family that he never smokes in front of them. But still it can cause diseases to himself. I found out that his peak flow reading is lower than it should normally be for a person of his age. A person’s peak flow is also affected by smoking. Therefore, I also chose smoking as a factor through which I can improve Jayaweera’s health. Jayaweera drinks about 2 units of alcohol per day. This is within the recommended levels. So Jayaweera is not at a risk of suffering from any harmful diseases caused by drinking.

Jayaweera seems to enjoy a good state of intellectual health being a Maths teacher. Everyday he gets a chance to refresh his knowledge by teaching the students and his own children. Jayaweera likes being a teacher and enjoys his work despite the business it causes him. Jayaweera thinks that he hasn’t got enough time for other things such as exercising, being with the family some more time, enjoying with friends and enjoying a leisure activity. Jayaweera’s emotional health is affected through this, as his lifestyle is too stressful for him. Therefore I thought it would be good to improve his lifestyle by leaving him some time for extra things as well. I will help him to reduce the stress of his lifestyle. I thought this will be better because according to follow my plan for exercising, he should have that extra time.

He spends lot of time with people, for example, fellow teachers, pupils and their parents. Therefore, he is socially healthy. Jayaweera is a friendly person to everyone and likes to enjoy with his friends a lot. However, this can lead him to drink more with friends. As he spends time with his friends, his emotional health develops.

Jayaweera’s lifestyle and his PIES

Jayaweera isn’t interested in getting a balanced diet as said above. As his favourite food is string hoppers, he is used to eat lots of carbohydrates. At the same time, he is suffering from diabetes. So he must decrease the amount of carbohydrates because, carbohydrate (glucose) contains lots of sugar and sugar is bad for people suffering from diabetes. Further, carbohydrate is also a factor, which can cause obesity. However, this is also a good source of energy for him. It will enable him to work long hours without getting tired. To enjoy a good state of physical health, a person should take a balanced diet. Being in a good state of physical health develops both a person’s emotional health as well as social health. Jayaweera may feel that he is healthy. It makes him emotionally fit. His friends could identify that he is healthy and have a good figure, so he could get the approval of his friends. However, it is important that Jayaweera includes every item in his diet i.e. carbohydrates proteins and etc in required amounts. Lack of these could lead to diseases and illnesses. If proteins are not there, his cells will not grow or repair and if carbohydrates are not there, he will have less energy. However, taking them in excess could also lead him to diseases such as diabetes – too much sugar (carbohydrates), Cholesterol- too much fat and heart disease which can also be caused by taking excess fat. Sometimes Jayaweera tends to ignore his meals as a result of his busy lifestyle. Not taking meals properly, according to a good basis can also give him an inappropriate health. He could be lack of nutrients and will be unhealthy and unfit. Not getting a balanced diet affects Jayaweera’s physical health as it causes diseases. Then he can be less intellectually fit as he will become tired more often and forget things. As Jayaweera’s physical health fails, he will be unable to do his job properly. He will start to think about it and his emotional health will also be affected. Finally, when the people around him get to know that he is not fit enough, he will be regarded badly losing his company affecting his social health. Therefore, one factor can affect our health in every way and diet is also an important part in our health.

Jayaweera isn’t taking enough exercises. However, exercises provide a number of benefits to our health. He thinks he is too busy to exercise himself. However, it is said that a person should exercise regularly to maintain a good health. Jayaweera travels to work everyday and leads a busy lifestyle. This can give him a chance to get exercised through this. However, he uses his motorcycle to travel to work and does not bother to walk. If he could walk, this will be better for his health rather than using his motorcycle. Exercising improves a person’s physical health and also emotional, social and intellectual health. Physical fitness is very important for a person. Not exercising enough will make him less physically active. He will lose his confidence and self esteem. So it can lead him to have a bad emotional health.

It is important to see more about smoking when talking about Jayaweera’s PIES, as I am taking this into account when making health plans. Looking at smoking has many disadvantages on his life. In addition to the health risks, which affect his physical health, there are other speculations as well. Jayaweera spends lot of money on cigarettes and he could wisely spend this money on important things such as books, newspapers and food (healthy foods e.g.: fruits and vegetables). Going further, he could also save money for his children to help them in their studies and for their future. Jayaweera is the only one who earns in his family. His wife doesn’t work. So he must be very careful in spending money. In addition, he must be very healthy to do his job. But if he carries on smoking, he could become unhealthy and be unfit to do his job. Jayaweera leads a busy life and is lack of time for extra things such as leisure activities. So he consumes some time on smoking, which can be spent on another thing such as exercising, as time has been a major problem for him. Smoking has other effects too. For example, a smoker will be regarded as an unpleasant person by others (it can be non-smokers) and will be unable to build relationships with them. So smoking can affect Jayaweera’s social life too.

One other thing, which I am taking into account, is Jayaweera’s stressful lifestyle. This has become a major problem for him. I think Jayaweera tends not to think about his health so much, due to this fact that he is busy. If he had enough time to rest, I am sure that he will think about his health more. Jayaweera will eat more healthily and he will spend some time enjoying leisure activities. These things could improve his health greatly.

Two measures of health.

BMI

BMI is one measure of health for Jayaweera, which I chose to analyse.

BMI stands for Body Mass Index and it is an indicator of health. We calculate the BMI of a person by dividing his weight by height in metres squared. For Jayaweera it was:

60/(1.6256*1.6256)=22.7

The BMI says whether a person has the appropriate amount of weight and height. It says whether the person has the correct amount of weight according to his height. The reason I chose this is because BMI is affected by how, a person takes diet and exercise. So as Jayaweera isn’t taking a balanced diet and regular exercises his weight can be affected badly.

However, at the moment Jayaweera is maintaining a normal BMI according to the graph.

But if Jayaweera continues to take his diet and not exercise daily, I think Jayaweera could reach the overweight section in the graph. Therefore, exercising and diet should be developed. As I said before, I have chosen exercise and diet as two factors to improve through health plans.

Peak flow.

The other measurement I chose for Jayaweera is his peak flow. It is a measure of our breathing rate. The peak flow helps a person to judge whether they have developed lung problems. A person with less physical fitness tends more to have a less peak flow reading. Peak flow measures the person’s efficiency of lungs and measures how quickly air can be breathed out. So efficiency of the lungs can be affected by factors such as smoking, poor air quality and exercise. Jayaweera could become breathless or this can lead to other respiratory diseases. I chose this measurement, because peak flow could be affected by factors, which I am going to improve through the health plans. These factors are smoking and not taking enough exercises.

I have recorded five readings of peak flow of Jayaweera to take a much accurate value of his real value. They were (in litres/minute):

570

559

561

558

571

(570+559+561+558+571)/5=563.8

So the mean value came to be approximately 564 l/min. However, for a person at his age, the peak flow reading should be about 582 according to the graph. So Jayaweera isn’t healthy in terms of his peak flow. This could be because he is a smoker. Further, he uses his motorcycle a lot and therefore, he is exposed to the environment more than he is if he used a car. Being exposed more means that he gets to breathe the polluted air in his area. In addition Jayaweera isn’t exercising. If he did, he would have been more fit and his peak flow reading would have had a variation towards the healthier side. So it is good idea to make health plans on smoking.

(Bib.19)

Health Plans

By looking at Jayaweera’s health in detail, I chose 4 factors, which affect Jayaweera’s health. I suggest that by considering these, I could improve Jayaweera’s health.

Taking a balanced diet
Exercising daily
Reducing smoking levels
Get rid of the stressful lifestyle.

Now I am going to talk to Jayaweera and introduce him my plans

As you have agreed to follow health plans in order to be healthy, I am going to prepare you four health plans on taking a balanced diet, exercising daily, reducing smoking and reducing the stress.

Balanced Diet

Vegetable curries- According to Jayaweera, this varies in different days. It can be a potato curry, a carrot curry and etc.

The table above shows you how you are used to eat within a particular day, as you have told me.

At the moment, you are not eating healthily. For example, on many mornings, you take a plate of white rice. This is not good enough for your health as white rice can increase your blood sugar level more. In another instance, you take 3 teaspoons full of sugar when you drink tea, coffee or milk. If I go further, your diet doesn’t contain much fruits. You are taking lots of carbohydrates and therefore, your diet isn’t balanced and it doesn’t have all the required nutrients for a healthy life. I will prepare you a weakly plan which contains healthy foods which can improve your health.

Note: The days of the weeks appear to all the rows i.e.: bed tea, breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and before sleep.

String hoppers made of brown rice flour-String hoppers is a meal, which is prepared using rice flour. This can be either brown rice flour or white rice flour. Therefore, I have advised Jayaweera to take string hoppers, which is made of brown rice flour.

The cigarette, which you are used to take after your meals or in other instances, will be excluded sometimes, when you start to follow the plan on smoking.

This plan is set focussing at a particular week. I have given you some choices in some places such as I have asked you to choose what vegetable curry you want. This is up to you. However, I know that you will be fed up with these meals after some time, as you will be following this continuously for many weeks. Therefore, after some weeks, I will meet you again. I will provide you with a new diet plan, which will contain new ideas of meals. When you start to follow this plan, you will start to understand the nutritional value of some foods as I have also provided you with some information. Then you will be able to choose your own meals.

The new table contains meals selected considering their nutritional values. I took into account that you are suffering from type 2 diabetes. As type 2 diabetes can be treated with diet, I chose some special foods, which can help you in this matter.

Brown rice- I replaced white rice with brown rice because white rice is not good for diabetes. Brown rice has some special nutritional values and it is recommended that brown rice is good for diabetes (Bib.38).

Kurakkan- I have said in many places that some foods such as Pittu and rotti should be made from kurakkan flour. This is also another way to treat diabetes. It is found that Kurakkan has a low content of starch (starch is bad for diabetes). (Bib.41)

Bitter gourd- I have included this as well in your diet table. This is also good for diabetes (Bib.39)

Kola kanda- I have said you to take kola kanda, in your diet. I chose this because, as this is a vegetable, I thought this would be a good choice to achieve the five-a-day.

When you are taking toast, I have advised you to take wholemeal bread because, it is high in fibre. Fibre is another essential thing for your diet. It contains many vitamins and minerals. You will find out some other important facts and benefits of eating fibre, if you visit this website:

(Bib.45)

Kurakkan thalapa- This is a meal prepared from Kurakkan. As I have said before, Kurakkan is healthy for us, especially for diabetics.

Kithul jaggery- I have told you to take the coffee before sleeping with kithul jaggery. I did this because it has been advised by the doctors that kithul jaggery is not too bad for diabetes.

You were used to take 3 tsps of sugar in your morning glass of milk and in other places as well where you drink tea or coffee. I replaced this with 2 tsps of sweeteners. It is recommended that sweeteners are good for people suffering from diabetes. (Bib 42)

You used to drink black tea, black coffee or tea after your breakfast. I replaced this with a fruit juice. However, it should be sugar free or else it will be of no use for your diabetes. I changed the type of juice for each day so that you can enjoy without getting bored. Sometimes I have said you to take fish curry, which is oily and spicy. I have said you to take fish by cooking it with oil because, I wanted to add some fat to your diet.

I tried to make you meet the target five-a-day, by introducing the fruit juices and the vegetable salads. Remember, string hoppers have also been included in the table. This has been used as a source of carbohydrate for you. However, this should be prepared using brown rice flour as it can help your health.

Your snacks have also been changed. You can take whole-wheat crackers instead of biscuits, cakes and other sweaty snacks. Crackers are good for your health, especially for diabetes, as this isn’t sweaty as the snacks you were used to take before. Further, I have added a slice of cheese for your diet. This was done in order to provide you with fat. Although too much fat is unhealthy, you need a small amount of this. (Bib.43)

I have included a soup to your dinner. This is done, in order to provide you with minerals through vegetables and also, to provide you with fluids.

On Sundays, I have advised you to take Sri Lankan traditional oily snacks without sugar. Previously, you were used to take traditional Sri Lankan sweets. However, this is not suitable for your health as sweets are not good for diabetes. Sri Lankan traditional oily snacks without sugar will not contain too many sweets. However, this will contain some oil, providing you with fat. I thought this would be a good snack for you. In your lunchtime, I have added curd with kithul treacle as a dessert. It is said that kithul treacle is also a good food for diabetes.

I haven’t only looked at diabetes when preparing the plan. I also took into account that you need to have all the different kinds of nutrients in your diet including carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins. When you choose the vegetable curries for your lunch, you have to choose different ones for each day. The different kinds of vegetables contain different minerals you need. Further, you will not feel bored if you change the vegetable each day. Try to make your mealtimes interesting as possible. It will help you to continue to take a balanced diet. I have tried my best to make it so.

It is important to say that doctors have recommended sour banana as well for diabetes.

In your diet plan, I used brown rice, potatoes, bread, crackers, string hoppers, rotti, Pittu, pastry, Kurakkan thalapa and Parota as sources of carbohydrates. Fish, egg, tuna, meat and salmon have been used as sources of protein. As sources of milk and diary foods, I chose milk, cheese and soy yoghurt, which I have included in your diet plan. Banana juice, orange juice, apple juice, papaya juice, kolakande, wood apple juice, vegetable curries, vegetable salad, mixed fruit juice, bitter gourd, brinjol, mukunu- wenna, sour banana, carrot and cabbage has been used in order to add fruits and vegetables to your diet, which will provide you with necessary minerals and vitamins.

Fish curry (oily and spicy), cheese, pastry, Sri Lankan traditional oily snacks and fried fish curry has been used as sources of fat. Although, there should be sweets in a balanced diet, as you are a diabetic, I have tried to reduce your sugar intake to a great extent. However, you may understand from the diagram below that sugar and fat should be the least constituents in your diet.

Importance of a balanced diet to your health.

Although, I have told you about the plan, and though you are aware about it now, you may be wandering why you should follow this. You may know or you may not know that there are benefits of eating a balanced diet. It is important to tell you about these, in order for you to follow the plan aiming for a target.

These are the basic things, which should be present in your diet. As I have mentioned before, I have used many kinds of foods, to provide you these things.

Importance of these nutrients to my health.

Carbohydrates are important in providing energy for you to work. This is quite essential, as you need to travel to work and to work long hours.

Milk and diary products are important because they provide you with calcium and other nutrients. Calcium is important for the growth of bones and teeth.

Foods containing fat and sugar. Fat provides you with warmth and therefore, plays an important role. Sugar is also important as this gives you energy. However, these should not be taken in excess as too much of them will make you unhealthy. Too much fat will give you cholesterol and too much sugar, as you may know by now, will make your diabetes worse.

Proteins, which are essential in the build up and repairing of body cells, should also be added to your diet.

Some other most important things needed to your diet are fruits and vegetables. They provide you with minerals and vitamins. For example, fruits provide you with vitamin C, which could help you to get rid of possible infections. As you told me on our conversation about your lifestyle and your health, you tend to have many accidents while you drive your motorcycle. As you said, you end up with injuries. Therefore, I one of the reasons for adding a fruit juice to your breakfast was because they are rich with vitamin C. As you are a diabetic, getting infections are dangerous because wounds will take a long time to heel. Sometimes the wounds can be fatal.

What will happen if I don’t get these basic things or what if I get them in excess?

It is very important to know about the effects of an unbalanced diet.

Obesity is a major problem caused by an unbalanced diet. Getting too much fatty and sweaty food causes this. (Remember sugary foods don’t stop giving you diabetes. It can also make you obsessed).

You can become too slim. This will happen if you eat very little. Remember to have your breakfast every day before leaving home. Or else, your body will lack the essential nutrients.

Heart disease! You will be very vulnerable to heart diseases if you had a family history of heart diseases. However, if you are careful with your diet, you can get rid of this. Too many fatty foods can give you coronary heart disease. It is very important to remember again that fats are not good for your health if it is in excess.

There are some problems you will face due to an unbalanced diet other than diseases. What if you feel tired and unfit? Can you imagine taking many days off from work? A good diet can make you fit and healthy. You can work for long and make more money. A good physical health can make you livelonger healthily, without depending on others.

You will not want to visit your doctor very often. However, an unbalanced diet can make you do so.

It is very important to remember that diet and exercise go together. You will find out in the future when you read further that fat in your body can be reduced through regular exercises. However, if you are quite concerned in taking a balanced diet and taking regular exercises together, you will have a wonderful health.

Exercising

Currently you are not exercising yourself daily. But it is recommended that a person should exercise daily to maintain a healthy life. Therefore you will be exercising daily after following this plan. You will think that you are too busy to spend time on this task. However, if you are really interested, you will probably have enough time. So for you to get an interest you must know why it is important to exercise. Therefore, first of all, read the following to have an idea.

Did you know that lack of exercise is much of a risk as smoking? If you are not making your body move in the way it needs,

It’ll be stiff
You won’t be able to use it properly because you will be unable to work long hours. Remember that you need to work long hours due to your job.
If you are eating too much, not enough exercise can make you obsessed.
You can suffer from heart diseases. If your family has a history of heart disease, you are more vulnerable to it. Therefore, it is better to think about it from now.
You will have a bad figure. Your body will be shaped horribly.
You will feel weak in front of your strong friends.
Friends might not want company with you anymore as they recognise that you are less fit than them. You will be unable to enjoy much with friends due to your ill health.

. Not only that, but exercising has some positive effects as well!

Prevents us becoming obsessed. Especially if you like to eat a lot, this will be very helpful for your health.
Prevents heart diseases. If you eat a lot of fat, it will be bad for your heart. Exercise helps to reduce the amount of fat in our body.
Strengthens and tones. As a man, you should look healthy and fit. It gives you a good personality and a healthy body. Your pupils will like you more.
Controls weight. You may be happy to hear that you have the ideal weight for your height at the moment. So to keep it going, exercise will be important.
Reduce the stress. You will be leading a busy life style with your kids and family. You have to think about lots of things in life as a father and the person who earns the living for the family. Exercise makes you calm after a stressful day. It makes you feel well emotionally and physically.
Makes you socialise. You can exercise with your friends so that you will also improve your social health.
Provides with natural pain relief.

Improves sex life.

Increases confidence.

Fixes your mood.

Reduce health risks such as diseases.

Increase your life expectancy.

Helps lose weight.

(Bib.34)

Think about this. You eat a lot of fat and carbohydrates. Perhaps you eat too much string hoppers, what if you will become extra large?

Or too weak and unfit losing your personality?

It’ll be embarrassing!!! Exercises prevent you becoming so.

Although exercise is time consuming, it doesn’t require any money. Does it? All you need is your body’s strength and your enthusiasm. So there is no reason you don’t want to exercise.

Are you ready to follow the plan now?

By the end of this plan, you will be exercising daily. In addition, you will be walking to work.

Follow this plan for every week. By doing so, you are exercising in the morning for 30 minutes and you are not using your motorcycle much. You will be walking a sort distance to work. As you are very busy at the moment, it will be difficult for you to spend some more time on exercising. However, after you follow these health plans on quitting smoking, getting a balanced diet and reducing the stress, you will be more fit and healthy. It will not be too hard to exercise for long as you will feel tired less often. Accordingly, you will also be able to have enough time for exercising more as you will not be too busy as a result of my reducing stress plan.

As your children are mature enough to travel to school on their own and as you are a really busy person, you can ask them to walk to school every morning. Now you don’t have to take them on your motorcycle. Therefore, leave it at home and use public transport all the way through to work. Then you get more active.

Remember! You are consuming some more of your time for exercising. Now you have to wake earlier than before. Therefore sleep early. But don’t try to ignore spending time with your family or other important tasks. As you are also trying to stop smoking by now, you will probably have a bit more time left from smoking. You will understand that diet and exercise goes together. When you exercise more, you will have a good appetite. Don’t over-eat or eat too much string hoppers. Eat as healthily as possible.

Here are some tips to take your mind on exercising.

Tell your family the night before that you are going for jogging in the morning. This will make you really want to go because your family is waiting to see.
Every night go in front of the mirror and see whether exercising has made any difference to you. It can be your figure.
Ask your kids, wife and friends how they feel about you. I am sure they will have a positive answer.
After each exercise, relax yourself for a few minutes. It avoids making exercise boring for you.
Don’t drink water before you go for exercising. If your stomach is full, you will be unable to exercise properly. You will feel nausea.
Whenever, you go out for jogging or any other activity, wear your favourite kit. This will encourage you.
Think about what you like the most when you get tired of exercising. This can be music, a TV programme or even string hoppers.

Smoking

The table shows you how you smoke within a particular day. You daily smoking times:

As you are smoking about 21 cigarettes per day, it is too much for you as it can affect your life. To reduce the risk, I have prepared a health plan so that at the end, you will be only smoking 5 cigarettes per day.

This is it:

Aim to reduce 6 cigarettes by the first 12 days.
Aim to reduce 11 cigarettes all together by the 25th day
Aim to reduce by 12 cigarettes altogether by the first month
You will be smoking only 5 cigarettes by the end of this plan. It will be in a month and 24 days.

*Beetle leaves are a traditional snack of Sri Lankans. Some people are used to chew it when they are doing nothing.

As reducing the amount of cigarettes you smoke is difficult, try to follow these tips in order to be successful in following my plan.

You tend to take many cigarettes per day because you have enough free times. Therefore, after you do one task and if you are normally smoking before doing any other work, try to carry on with some work to avoid smoking. For example, you smoke as soon as you get out of bed in the morning, and before your bed tea. So in this point, you can smoke as soon as you wake and have your bed tea as soon as possible. So then you won’t have enough time in the middle to smoke. So you have smoked only 1 cigarette within that time. Further, you can enjoy a leisure activity, which will take your mind off smoking. You will find out when you follow the plan to reduce the stress, that enjoying a leisure activity such as listing to your favourite song on an mp3 player is better than smoking as it helps you to relax.

Try different snacks while you are having tea or taking a break. This will keep your mind off cigarettes. For example, you can take biscuits. Remember, at this moment, you are also trying to take a balanced diet. Therefore, do not take unhealthy snacks such as too many crisps or too many chocolates. I think whole-wheat crackers will be healthy for you. I have also said this in your diet plans. Try to eat as healthily as possible. You can eat apples and other fruits. Keep some snacks with you all the time. Whenever you feel like smoking, enjoy your snack. You will be happy to do that because you know that there are no health risks from it.

At this period you can avoid meeting friends who smoke. Try to meet people who don’t smoke. Tell your friends that you are aiming to stop smoking in less than 2 months.

At the end of 54 days, you can wear a nicotine patch if it is hard to stay without smoking.

Remember to change the brand of your cigarettes to a cheaper one. This will help you to save more money as well.

Collect the money you would have spent on cigarettes in a till, and at the end of each week, count it to see how much you have saved. This can be used to enjoy a day out with your family. Or else, if you prefer, you can offer it to a charity. Counting the money you save, will encourage you more to avoid buying cigarettes.

Remember that smoking leads you to spend a lot of money. At last, you’ll find that you have bought nothing from that but a bad health. As you are the only earner in the family, it is important that you are organised with your financial background (how you spend and earn money). An adequate income allows you to:

Eat a balanced diet.
Socialise with friends
Buy luxury (e.g. comfortable furnisher, houses)
Afford nice clothes
Afford leisure activities.

(Bib.1)

Most importantly, knowing that you have enough money to support you and your family will make you less stressed. If you think about the health problems it cause, it is good that you remember that, “Prevention is better than cure”.

Keep following a health plan is not an easy task, especially giving up something you used to do already. But if you know any harm, which can be caused to your life through that action, you will be much interested than if you didn’t know anything about it. Therefore, read the contents to get an idea about how you will benefit.

Smoking and Health

This information sheet will be helpful to anyone looking forward for a life without smoking.

Why stop it?

Anybody enjoying smoking will be away from understanding the benefits of going smoke free. However, you’ll enjoy life when you experience the drastic improvements to life. If you want to find out more about it read further.

Will my health benefit if I stop it?

Of course. Have you ever considered the risks to your life when smoking? If so you’ll understand how you benefit by not being under the risks.

Your risk of developing illnesses, disability or death caused by cancer, heart or lung disease will be reduced.
You will breathe well and be generally fit. Your peak flow reading will be healthier.
You’ll save the lives of people around you by not exposing them to smoke. It can be your family members, best friend or even your partner.
You will reduce the risk of your children suffering from any disease.
You will really enjoy the taste of your favourite food (string hoppers) more than before.

Is it only my health that benefits?

You will be more welcomed by friends by not having the stale tobacco smell. (Develop social health)
You save money. More money will be saved if you are a heavy smoker. You can enjoy with your family a day out by saving the money you spend on smoking during a month. You can also enjoy more leisure activities, which will require money.
You will enjoy the life in a clean house without your walls being stained with nicotine.
You will be more attractive in terms of your skin and teeth. Your pupils will like you very much and they will concentrate on lessons more.
You will be more confident and be proud in front of others by achieving your target to stop smoking.
Your wife and children will be happier because they have a non-smoking father and a non-smoking husband.

So you will be thinking about how to reach the targets in the plan. It will be a bit difficult for a person smoking heavily to give up smoking suddenly. But there are ways you can do it.

First of all, you must make up your mind that you will stop it. Then follow these tips as far as possible.

Read many articles as possible about smoking.
Talk to friends who had also given up smoking. Ask them how they feel and why they did stop it.
Think about how you will feel when you stop smoking.
Tell your friends that you will surely reach your target in the plan.
Get rid of ashtrays, lighters in your house.
Try to avoid meeting smoking friends.
Sit in non-smoking areas if you go to a restaurant or some other place.
When buying a cigarette, buy a brand which you doesn’t like much

(Bib.22)

Getting rid of the stressful lifestyle.

Leading a peaceful and calm life.

The present lifestyle of people makes almost everybody stressful and busy. You will be thinking about many things; work, family, children-probably about their studies, friends-you will want to spend some time with them, money-you will sometimes not have money for something you really want to do-it can be to spend some time out with the family. All these will spin around your mind all the time.

Let’s see why you are so busy.

According to your timetable, you take only 6 hours of asleep a day. However, you are supposed to take at least 8 hours of sleep a day.

As you take your dinner at 8.15p.m. You stay a long time without going to bed till 11.00 p.m. However, you can go to sleep at 9.45 p.m. You also have enough time to spend with the family after dinner. Further, going to bed early is good for you because it then keeps your mind off smoking as well. In addition, as you are now exercising daily, you get some more time for rest if you make 9.45p.m, your bed time. By following this, you have increased your sleeping time. If you don’t have after school lessons or tuition in the evenings, you can make your sleeping time even more early so that you can reach the target of sleeping 8 hours per day. As you are free most of the time on Sunday, sleep more. Take your dinner from out on that day and enjoy a lot with your family.

You can also sleep more on Saturday. This can be sleep till late or sleep early.

Meditation

You may know that meditation is a good treatment for your health like exercise. However, this has some more benefits when compared to exercise. For a start, I will tell you about it.

Deeper Level of Relaxation- It will be easy for you to reduce the stress, when you relax.
Natural Change in Breathing- As you are a smoker, and as your peak flow is not normal, this factor will be quite important for you.
Decrease in Stress Hormone- I think, this is what you need.
Reduced Need for Medical Care- You will have enough time left at home, which will otherwise be spent on travelling to the doctor.
Decreased Cigarette, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse- This will be helpful for you to follow the plan on smoking.
Increased Relaxation and Decreased Stress- This is really important for you
Improved Health and More Positive Health Habits

(Bib.37)

As there are many benefits for your health from meditation, it is good that you practise it at least for a shorter period during one day. You can consume some time during the period from after dinner to till you sleep. I think the best time is at 9.30p.m. So you go to bed at 9.45p.m. It is good to go to sleep with a refreshed mind.

At the start, it will be a bit difficult to focus your mind for 15 minutes. However, if you practise it in steps, probably, you will succeed.

1st day- Meditate for 5 minutes.

2nd day- Make it for 10 minutes.

3rd day- Make it for 15 minutes.

When you meditate, if you feel that you can focus you mind for longer, do not hesitate. When you become used to this, you can meditate for even longer. However, try to make your sleeping time 9.45p.m. You can start to meditate a bit early (earlier than 9.30p.m.) so that you have enough time to meditate longer and to go to bed early.

For more information on meditation, visit this website:

Whenever you are free, use an mp3 player to listen to your favourite music. This will take your mind off all the other stressful things.

Whenever you are getting on with something related to your family, take the help of your wife. This can be something to do about your children or for example banking. Whenever you have a problem, tell your wife or one of your best friends. If you do the shopping, go with your wife.

(Bib.28)

While you are following these tips and the plans, contact me if you have any problems. I will give you more tips to make it simpler.

Good luck!

Section D

SMART plan

The four aims I have tried to reach through my plans are making Jayaweera take a balanced diet, making him exercise regularly, reducing the number of cigarettes he smokes and reducing the stress for his life. I prepared four different health plans to achieve these. I have made my first three plans in table formats and the fourth in paragraphs. This makes the task more clear to Jayaweera and the tables give him an idea about the time period he needs to do each of the tasks or not to do something he was used to do before.

I have made my plans specifically aiming for a target.

The first plan is for taking a balanced diet. This is very specific and I have included all the meals he could take in a particular week.
The second plan is for exercising daily. This is specific too. It is laid in table format.
The third plan is for reducing smoking. This is very specific. Jayaweera gets a clear idea what I am trying to do.
The fourth is reducing stress. I have given him specifically what to do. For example, I have given him the time periods where he could meditate.

My plans are measurable.

The diet plan is measurable. It is mainly focussing at a week, which is measurable. This aims to make Jayaweera eat a balanced diet by the week, he starts to follow the plan.
The second plan too says in the beginning that Jayaweera will be exercising daily and that he will be walking to work. I think this is measurable.
The smoking plan gives in the beginning of what the future will be like. For example, it says that in 12 days, the number of cigarettes smoking will be reduced by 6. Therefore, this is measurable too.
The plan for stress makes him less stressed as soon as he succeeds in following the plan. In that way, this is measurable.

My plans are achievable

I have made the plans very clear to follow and I have also given him tips on how to follow my plans. This makes them achievable. For example, I have given him steps to reduce smoking, little by little and step by step. This is an example to show how I have made my plans achievable. I have chosen a variety of foods to prevent it becoming fed up for Jayaweera when taking the new diet, according to my advice. The plans are made carefully so that they are not hard to achieve. I studied Jayaweera’s lifestyle well, so that the plans will not affect any of his important daily tasks.

My plans are realistic.

I have studied Jayaweera’s daily timetable and I have made my plans according to them so that Jayaweera will not miss any of his important tasks as going to work and spending time with his family. Therefore I think this is realistic. I have reduced the number of cigarettes he smokes systematically so that it will not be difficult for him. This is an example to show how I made my plans realistic. In finding time for him to sleep more, (I tried to make Jayaweera sleep more than he used to sleep during one day) I made sure that he has enough time to spend with the family and that he has enough time to do his normal tasks. I think my plans are quite realistic.

My plans are timetable.

It is clear from looking at my plans that they have been set according to a time period. For example, the one for smoking is for 54 days. All the other plans follow a pattern as this. The diet plan has been made focussing at a particular week. This can be followed through out. Later, when these meals become boring, he can change them, according to the foods’ nutritional value. I will also help him in changing his meals.

Although my plans are SMART, I know that Jayaweera will have problems when following them.

By considering the smoking plan, I have reduced the cigarettes one by one. When Jayaweera follows the plan for smoking, he will be unable to reduce the first cigarette on the first day. Therefore I have advised him not to leave a big gap between the morning cigarette and the bed tea. In other places, I have said him to take a snack to forget about smoking. In this way, it will be not much difficult. At the end, I have advised him to wear a nicotine patch if he finds it difficult to stay without smoking. Sometimes, if Jayaweera get to meet one of his friends who smoke, he will want to smoke with him. Therefore, I have advised him not to meet his smoking friends during the time he follows this plan. When he is following my plan, He will contact me if he gets any problem. Then I will provide him more tips on how to make life easy for him.

When following the plan on exercising, it will be difficult for Jayaweera to suddenly exercise. He will be unable to jog for a long period as his stamina should be low due to the fact, that he wasn’t exercising before I introduced my plan. Jayaweera will feel tired before long while he exercises in the first morning. This will be because his body is not used to work hard. Therefore, my plan is set so that he starts to exercise little by little. I have given him tips to make it easy for him for example by accompanying a friend and wearing his favourite clothes. These things will make him want to exercise.

Jayaweera will find it hard to change his current diet style. Therefore, I have chosen a variety of Sri Lankan foods for him to enjoy. His favourite food (string hoppers) has also been included in the diet list as a source of carbohydrate. However, I have advised him to prepare it in a healthy way, using brown rice flour. Jayaweera will not have to worry his wife more because these meals are easy to prepare. I have also given him a chance to eat from out on Sundays. I thought a change in his meals would prevent my plan being boring to him.

In the plans itself, I have included some tips on how to overcome the problems. In addition, I have attached some leaflets for him to look at. I have also included health information for him to look at so that he will be motivated to follow these plans. In addition, some web addresses have been provided for him to look at more important facts. These things will make him want to follow these plans as they show the advantages of doing so.

There are some factors, which affect Jayaweera in succeeding to follow the plans.

Levels of stress- Behaviours that reduce Jayaweera’s stress will be unable to get rid of unless there is a replacement for that. Smoking is one example for this. Jayaweera does smoke, because he leads a very stressful life. Smoking seems to make him relaxed. However, if I have a replacement for this, I could probably, make him stop smoking. My plan on reducing the stress does it for him. It has some other tips, which he can follow to relax himself. They are meditation and listening to music.
Jayaweera’s job- sometimes, a person’s job can affect his health. For example, a builder is more likely to get physically unhealthy, when compared to a teacher. So I think, Jayaweera’s job isn’t of much disadvantage for him. Sometimes, a person’s job will make him busy and unable to spend time on concentrating on a health plan. Jayaweera’s job tends to make him a very busy person. However, I have made my plans, so that Jayaweera will have enough time to both do his job and to follow the plans.
His age and gender- Mainly, women have more concerns on their health more than men. Therefore, as Jayaweera is a man, it is in a way a disadvantage for him as he will be not much interested in his health. However, I think after reading my information sheets and the leaflets, Jayaweera will begin to concentrate more on his health than before.
The friends’ and the social pressure- If Jayaweera has more fiends who smoke than who doesn’t, according to matching with his peer group, he will smoke with them. Sometimes, his friends might not see quitting smoking as good for a person. Therefore, they could change his mind. For this reason, I have told Jayaweera, not to meet his smoking friends, during the time where he follows my plan on smoking.
His social class- People in higher social classes tend more to look at their health and to change their behaviours, more than people in low social classes. If I say further, poor people will have many problems to think about in life. For example, they would have to think about ways of finding more money. Therefore, they will not have enough time to think about their health. It is the vice versa for rich people. They will have fewer problems and therefore, they will have more time to concentrate on their health.
His self concept- This is how Jayaweera see himself. If he has a positive self-concept, he will look at his health in an optimistic way. This will make him think that he can succeed in meeting his targets.

(Bib.1)

This is how the plans make a difference to his health:

It will develop his physical health

Jayaweera will not feel the difficulties in breathing and he will not smell of stale tobacco after he reduces smoking. Jayaweera will look more pleasant. He will be more fit and healthy after exercising daily. Jayaweera will be able to reduce the level of sugar in his blood, following diet tips. He will be able to maintain a good figure and lead a healthy life, while maintaining a healthy BMI.

It will develop his intellectual health

Jayaweera will not be too stressed after following the tips on how to become less stressed. It will give his mind a chance to think about other things. He can concentrate on things, which could increase his knowledge. For example, he can read books peacefully and can teach his students well.

It will develop his emotional health

Jayaweera knows that he is not doing the things, which keeps him in a risk such as smoking, not taking a balanced diet and not exercising. This makes him happy. In addition, Jayaweera gets stressed less; therefore, he is emotionally fit. After he starts to meditate, he will feel that he is refreshed. This can also give him a good emotional health.

It will develop his social health:

Jayaweera’s friends know that he is successful and is not smoking. This will help him to get the interest of his friends. In addition they can recognise that he is strong and fit than before through exercise and a balanced diet. They will like him more.

After the end of each of my plans, I will meet Jayaweera to see how successful he has been. I will talk to him more, and inquire about how successful he is. If he has failed, I will make my plans last longer so that it will be more easier. For example, the plan on reducig smoking lasts for 54 days. However, if it is difficult for Jayaweera to reach the targets in the plan, I will make it last longer. It can be for a week further. I will also measure his peak flow reading again to see whether and how it has improved. Further, I will keep a regular check of his BMI to make sure that it is within the normal levels. In addition, I will measure his blood glucose levels to check how it has changed.

Bibliography

GCSE Health and Social Care for OCR. (Text book)
walkinghttp://ezinearticles.com/?Some-Examples-of-Aerobic-Activities&id=142174
http://www.peakflow.com/top_nav/normal_values/PEFNorms.html
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Exercise/Pages/Advantages.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx
21st century science OCR Textbook
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hambantota_District
Parents’ support

Appendix 1

Survey

This survey is conducted as a part of my GCSE Health and Social care coursework. By doing this, I intend to Know how different people look at their health and therefore how they define it.

What is Health according to you?

1st volunteer- adult:

“Health is Wealth which should come first before all and it is not only absence of disease but also to be fit physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.”

2nd volunteer- adolescence:

“Health is physical, mental and social well being”

3rd volunteer- child:

“If we are healthy, we can do any hard work like carry things, run, jump ant etc.”

4th volunteer-later adulthood

“I don’t think I am healthy at this stage because I can’t walk properly and sit up straight. My son helps me to do my work and I am quite vulnerable to diseases and illnesses. I think a healthy person can do their own work without depending on others so health should be that”.

Appendix 2

Questionnaire

As part of my health and social care coursework, I am supposed to prepare a questionnaire for my client. So it will be grateful if you could answer my questions.

Name: Jayaweera
Gender: Male
Age: 50 years
Height: 162.56 cm
Weight: 60 kg
Place of living, your country and region: Matara, Sri Lanka
Ethnicity: Sinhala, Buddhist
Occupation: A maths teacher
Marital State: Married
Do you have children? If so, how many? Yes I have 2 children
Are they schooling? Yes
How long do you spend your time with the family? Usually I stay at home once a week to enjoy with my family and one evening I help my children in their studies.
How concerned are you about your family? Very much
Medical conditions e.g.: cholesterol, heart disease: I suffer from type 2 diabetes.
Do you have variables in your diet e.g.: vegetarian: No I prefer anything
Favourite foods: String hoppers
Do you enjoy eating? Yes
Do you take regular exercises? If so how many hours per day and what is the exercise? No I don’t exercise
Do you practise yoga? No
Do you practise any other activities, which you think will benefit your health? No
If you do not exercise or practise yoga, do you think by doing it your health will be benefited? Yes
What is your favourite time of the day? With my family
What do you enjoy doing? Talking to friends
Do you smoke? If so, how many per day? I smoke about 21 cigarettes per day. But sometimes, more than that.
How do you consider smoking, Harmful/Harmless/Not much harmful? Harmful
Why do you smoke? I don’t really have a reason, maybe because I feel relaxed by doing so.
If you smoke:

Have you tried to stop it? Several times

Do you like to stop it? Not in particular

Do you know any bad effects of smoking? Yes

Do you take alcohol? Yes
If you drink:

How many unit/ pints per day? One or two units. In special occasions, more than that.

Whom do you drink with? With friends.

Where do you drink? In the pub

Why do you drink? I enjoy it

What do you do in your leisure time? I don’t have much time left to enjoy any leisure activities, but sometimes, I watch the television
How would you consider your lifestyle, Busy/Boring/Stressful/Enjoyable? Busy
Do you like you lifestyle? No, it is stressful
How happy are you about your lifestyle, from a scale of 1-10 (1 being unhappy and 10 being happy)? 7
If your number was less than 10, why is it? Because my profession makes it stressful
Do you get stressed easily? Yes
Do you consider yourself as healthy? No
Would you like to follow a health plan if you have any factors affecting your health badly? Yes
Can you say briefly what your daily lifestyle is like?

Starting from morning, I drop my children and go to work. If I wake early enough, and have enough time, I have a plate of rice for breakfast, before leaving home. Then at the school, I normally have to teach 4 lessons before lunch. Mostly, I get a chance to enjoy my lunch with friends. The School lasts till 2.00p.m. However, very often I am left with off lesson classes at school. Except on Wednesdays, I offer private tuition to GCSE students, to make some additional money, after leaving work. After everything I come home at about 8.00p.m. I find time to be with my family. This is the best time of the day as I enjoy being with my wife and kids. Then I join them for dinner, having a chat.

Thank you!

Glossary

Bed tea This is the tea, taken as soon as a person gets out of bed.

Beetle leaves These are a traditional snack of Sri Lankans. Some people take it when they are free and when they are doing nothing.

White rice Rice is the main food of Sri Lankans and it is a good source of carbohydrates. There are many types of rice. Many people prefer to eat white rice as it has a better taste than brown rice. However, it is found that white rice is not good for diabetes.

Chillie sambol This is another item added to Sri Lankan meals. As it is hot and spicy, people prefer to take it in their diet.

Coconut sambol This is also another item like chillie sambol. This is mainly made of coconut. This makes a good taste within other curries for Sri Lankans.

Manioc Manioc is like potato and is a root crop. This is high in carbohydrates.

Hoppers This is made of flour. Therefore, it too is high in carbohydrates.

Brown rice Rice is the main food of Sri Lankan. Brown rice is healthier than white rice. This is good for people suffering from diabetes. However, people don’t prefer much to take brown rice, as it is not much tasty as white rice.

Sour banana This is a type of banana. Sour banana can be prepared as a curry or it can be even used in salads. It has been found that this is good for diabetic patients.

Curd and kithul treacle Curd and kithul trickle is a famous dessert for Sri Lankans. Curd is similar to yoghurts and it is made of milk. However, as this is sour in taste, a sweat tasting ingredients should be added before enjoying it. Normally, people are used to use sugar or trickle. However, kithul treacle is good as it is healthy.

Milk rice This is rice made adding milk to it. This is also a famous food of Sri Lankans. Milk rice is also rich in carbohydrates.

Mung beans This is a type of seeds. This can be eaten even as a curry or as a main meal with sambol. Mung beans are rich in carbohydrates.

String hoppers This is made of rice flour. String hoppers are rich in carbohydrate.

Parota Parota is an Asian food, which is made using flour. Therefore, it is high in carbohydrates.

Rotti This is also made of flour. This can be enjoyed with chillie sambol or even with other curries. This is high in carbohydrates.

Pittu Pittu is a food made of rice flour. This can be enjoyed with wood apple juice or even other sambol. Pittu in high in carbohydrates.

Kurakkan Kurakkan can be used to make many types of food. This is a grain used to make an eatable paste. (Bib.46) Kurakkan is very good for our health.

Kola kanda This is similar to a soup. Kola kanda is made using leaves. These are special leaves, which are good for our health. This is high in minerals and vitamins.

Kurakkan thalapa This is made of Kurakkan and therefore this is high in carbohydrates. Kurakkan is good for our health.

Kithul jaggery Jaggery is a famous snack. This can be used to drink tea instead of sugar. Kithul jaggery is the jaggery made from treacle of kithul trees. This is a healthy food.

Jackfruit It is a famous traditional fruit of Sri Lankan.

Teacher Reviews

Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

Michelle Turrell

8th of Jan 2013

Overall this is a highly detailed report. It has a great deal of strengths demonstrating the writers knowledge and understanding of how lifestyle choices can affect health and wellbeing. It demonstrates a clear understanding of the PIES and environmental factors that affect a persons health. Negatives regarding this report are that in some sections it is very repetitive, and begins to become quite boring for the reader. ****

Did you find this review helpful? Join our team of reviewers and help other students learn