Exercise has certain benefits on a person's health, and physical condition.
INTRODUCTION
Task 1:
For my first task I will be looking at how exercise has certain benefits on a person's health, and physical condition. But, lack of exercise can lead to health problems. I must firstly explain what regular exercise and the link it has with risk reduction of:
* Coronary Heart Disease.
* Hypertension.
* Diabetes.
* Obesity.
* Arthritis.
* Osteoporosis.
For each one I will be explaining what they are and how exercise can help to cut down on the risk of developing them, or how exercise helps them when developed.
Task 2:
Exercise not only has physical benefits, it also has been seen to have psychological benefits. I will be explaining how exercise can reduce the risk of being depressed or stressed.....
Task 3:
I will be describing two recent government health campaigns and stating if they have been successful or not, and then explaining why.
Task 4:
In this section I will simply be producing an A1 sized poster on a topic I was given which is 'Drugs.'
EXERCISE ITS WORTH IT!
Task 1 (a):
Coronary Heart Disease:
Coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease and ischemic heart disease, causes angina pectoris (chest pain) and myocardial infarction (heart attack).
* Seven million Americans suffer from coronary heart disease, the most common form of heart disease. This type of heart disease is caused by a narrowing of the coronary arteries that feed the heart.
* Approximately 6,200,000 people in the United States have chest pain or angina pectoris, 2,300,000 men and 3,900,000 women.
* The lifetime probability that a woman will develop coronary heart disease is 46%, almost 1 in 2.
* More than 350,000 coronary artery bypass graft surgeries are performed every year in the U.S.
* Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of premature permanent disability among U.S. workers.
* CHD is the number one killer of both men and women in the U.S. Each year, more than 500,000 Americans die of heart attacks caused by CHD. Twenty-four percent of men and 42 percent of women die within a year after a recognized heart attack.
Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease
Risk factors are conditions that increase your risk of developing heart disease. Some can be changed and some cannot. Although these factors each increase the risk of CHD, they do not describe all the causes of coronary heart disease; even with none of these risk factors, you might still develop CHD.
Controllable Risk Factors
* High blood pressure
* High blood cholesterol
* Smoking
* Obesity
* Physical inactivity
* Diabetes
* Stress
(Although stress may be a risk factor for CHD, scientists do not know exactly how stress might be involved in heart disease.)
Uncontrollable Risk Factors
* Gender
* Heredity (family history of CHD)
* Age
Causes of Coronary Heart Disease
CHD is caused by a thickening of the inside walls of the coronary arteries. This thickening, called atherosclerosis, narrows the space through which blood can flow, decreasing and sometimes completely cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the heart.
Atherosclerosis usually occurs when a person has high levels of cholesterol, a fat-like substance, in the blood. Cholesterol and fat, circulating in the blood, build up on the walls of the arteries. The buildup narrows the arteries and can slow or block the flow of blood. When the level of cholesterol in the blood is high, there is a greater chance that it will be deposited onto the artery walls. This process begins in most people during childhood and the teenage years, and worsens as they get older.
In addition to high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking also contribute to CHD. On the average, each of these doubles your chance of developing heart disease. Therefore, a person who has all three risk factors is eight times more likely to develop heart disease than someone who has none.
Obesity and physical inactivity are other factors that can lead to CHD. Overweight increases the likelihood of developing high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure, and physical inactivity increases the risk of heart attack. Regular exercise, good nutrition, and smoking cessation are key to controlling the risk factors for CHD.
Effects of Coronary Heart Disease
Like any muscle, the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients that are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged and cannot supply enough blood to the heart, the result is CHD. If not enough oxygen-carrying blood reaches the heart, the heart may respond with pain called angina. The pain is usually felt in the chest or sometimes in the left arm and shoulder. (However, the same inadequate blood supply may cause no symptoms, a condition called silent angina.)
When the blood supply is cut off completely, the result is a heart attack. The part of the heart that does not receive oxygen begins to die, and some of the heart muscle may be permanently damaged.
How exercise can help
Regular exercise increases beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which protects against arteriosclerosis. It also increases heart efficiency, lower blood pressure helps control body weight, balances blood-clotting factors and reduces stress.
Hypertension
The heart is a fist-sized hollow muscular organ & functions automatically on it's own without the brain's instruction. It collects oxygen-depleted blood from the body before pumping it to the lungs & then supplying oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to all parts of the body. Blood pressure is the force blood exerts on the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps it through the arteries. An increase in the blood volume pumped from the heart would increase blood pressure & cause blood vessels to dilate.
Blood pressure is measured as the systole & diastole pressures. Systole blood pressure (SBP) accounts for the pressure when the heart contracts (resulting in a heart beat), pumps blood into the aorta (the body's main artery) which branches off to other smaller arteries. Diastole blood pressure (DBP) accounts for the pressure when the heart relaxes, the valves open allowing blood to cruise into the ventricles. Represented as 130/80mm Hg where the SBP is 130 mm Hg & 80 mm Hg is the DBP.
The body's blood pressure rises & falls naturally throughout the day. Stressful situations or moments of excitment make the heart beat faster so as to keep up with the increased demand for more blood & oxygen. Thus blood pressure would go up. When the body is at rest, especially during sleeptime, blood pressure lowers down. The health danger alert sounds when the blood pressure persists at very high levels for long periods of time.
What causes Hypertension?
Excess alcohol, obesity and stress. Other possible triggers are air pollution, perfume, tobacco smoke, food allergens (like coffee, chocolate, milk, sugar, salt, wheat and nuts). Stress, including something called "white coat hypertension" - the stress one gets when seeing a doctor.
Preventing hypertension
A low-carbohydrate, low-fat, high-fibre diet, shiitake and maitake mushrooms, cabbage. Salt is caustic and water has to be retained so as to neuralize its acidic effects. Water retention contributes to rising blood pressure. Vitamins C & E are antioxidants that protect the arteries & heart muscle against damage initiated by the free radicals.
Basically the nest way of preventing hypertension is to eat a well balanced and all round nutritional diet, with plenty of exercise in order to keep the heart healthy.
Diabetes
Diabetes is classified into three types: Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 (also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes) is caused by a lack of insulin. This type is found in five percent to 10 percent of diabetics and usually occurs in children or adolescents. Type 1 diabetics have an abnormal glucose-tolerance test and little or no insulin in their blood. In Type 1 diabetics, the beta cells of the pancreatic islets are destroyed, possibly by the person's own immune system, genetic or environmental factors.
Type 2 (also called ...
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Diabetes
Diabetes is classified into three types: Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 (also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes) is caused by a lack of insulin. This type is found in five percent to 10 percent of diabetics and usually occurs in children or adolescents. Type 1 diabetics have an abnormal glucose-tolerance test and little or no insulin in their blood. In Type 1 diabetics, the beta cells of the pancreatic islets are destroyed, possibly by the person's own immune system, genetic or environmental factors.
Type 2 (also called adult-onset diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes) occurs when the body does not respond or can't use its own insulin (insulin resistance). Type 2 occurs in 90 percent to 95 percent of diabetics and usually occurs in adults over the age of 40, most often between the ages of 50 and 60. Type 2 diabetics have an abnormal glucose-tolerance test and higher than normal levels of insulin in their blood. In Type 2 diabetics, the insulin resistance is linked to obesity, but we do not know exactly how this occurs. Some studies suggest that the number of insulin receptors on liver, fat and muscle cells is reduced, while others suggest that the intracellular pathways activated by insulin in these cells are altered.
Gestational diabetes can occur in some pregnant women and is similar to Type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetics have an abnormal glucose-tolerance test and slightly higher levels of insulin. During pregnancy, several hormones partially block the actions of insulin, thereby making the woman less sensitive to her own insulin. She develops a diabetes that can be managed by special diets and/or supplemental injections of insulin. It usually goes away after the baby is delivered.
Regardless of the type of diabetes, diabetics exhibit several (but not necessarily all) of the following symptoms:
* Excessive thirst (polydipsia)
* Frequent urination (polyuria)
* Extreme hunger or constant eating (polyphagia)
* Unexplained weight loss
* Presence of glucose in the urine (glycosuria)
* Tiredness or fatigue
* Changes in vision
* Numbness or tingling in the extremities (hands, feet)
* Slow-healing wounds or sores
* Abnormally high frequency of infection
Obesity
The number of people worldwide who are overweight now rivals the number who are underweight, according to the World Health Organisation - obesity is a growing problem. In the UK, 15% of men and 18% of women are clinically obese, while the figures in the US are closer to 25%. The search for anti-obesity drugs and ways of controlling body metabolism is more than simply helping people to slim, it could be a lifesaver as there are some serious health risks associated with being overweight.
The main cause of obesity is overeating, gorging on foods high in sugar, carbohydrates and fats and insufficient exercise. Foods like sweets, chocolates, fried snacks, wafers, and chips have high calorie value and are low on nutrient. Thus one tends to add excess calories which are not burnt and are converted to adipose tissue. Overall, in calorie terms it can be concluded that input is in excess of output or calorie spent.
Though obesity is not a serious disease by itself, it can create a disposition towards hypertension, diabetes, heart disorders etc. To a great extent obesity is due to a sedentary life style coupled with excessive eating.
In obese people the cellular fire in the tissues is low and as a result any excess food is converted into fat tissue. The gastric fire or digestive is very high due to which food consumed is digested fast and the person feels hungry very soon after a meal. In fact it is a viscious circle, as you feel hungry you tend to eat and add excess fat to your body.
Therefore the most important treatment is to control eating. There are several suggestions given below :
* Avoid high calorie foods like traditional sweets, chocolates, ice creams, cold drinks, butter, fatty fried food. Instead snack on fruits, salads, prunes, raisins.
* Whenever you feel hungry take a walk for about 20 minutes and divert your mind from your hunger.
* Get involved in work and activity you like to divert attention from your hunger.
* Everyday do some regular exercise for atleast 45 minutes.
* Besides, be aware and burn calories as and when possible. For example run up a staircase instead of using a lift, walk short distances instead of traveling by car.
* Do not use very hot water for bath. Adjust the temperature to suit your body.
* Do not nap during the day, instead get involved in some physical work
Arthritis
Many people assume that aching bones and painful joints are a normal part of growing old. This is not so. Whilst we all get tired at the end of the day, and these problems are more common as we age, you should not simply accept them without question.
There are many types of arthritis, but generally they divide into 'wear and tear' types such as osteoarthritis, and inflammatory arthritis such rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis.
Osteoarthritis
You may think it unfair that you get continuously painful, crumbling osteoarthritic joints whilst others seem unaffected even into old age. Your parents may have given you the disease genetically. Or you may have caused it yourself if you have a weight problem causing hip or knee pains, and others if it has followed on from a traumatic event such as an injury. Osteoarthritis can cause a very debilitating disintegration of the weight-bearing surface of a joint. Its exact cause isn't clear.
Inflammatory arthritis
This type of arthritis is caused by your body recognising a piece of your tissue - in this case the joint - as 'foreign' and then setting up an attack against it. Your symptoms can be similar to osteoarthritis but often there is more swelling and stiffness and the pain in more severe. Other disorders may go with it, including eye, skin or chest problems.
Treatment for arthritis
You may already have tried tablets from your chemist but there is a variety to choose from and it is worth trying others if they do not help.
* Pain-killers - e.g. paracetamol or aspirin
* Anti-inflammatories - e.g. ibuprofen
* Anti-inflammatory creams -e.g. ibugel
* Resting the joint for a day or two
* Stronger anti-inflammatories ( prescription only) e.g. diclofenac, indomethacin
* Bandaging or support items
* Local massage
* Physiotherapy
Task 1 (b)
How regular exercise can help reduce the risk of the above diseases?
I will firstly begin by describing what exercise really is, and then go on to describe how it can benefit people who suffer from CHD, Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity and Arthritis.
A lot of young people are active for a total of 30 minutes a day. This may sound okay but actually it's not enough to keep your heart and body in good health. You should be aiming for at least one hour a day of moderate intensity physical fitness. Activities like brisk walking, cycling and dancing are all excellent examples of moderate activity.
Physical activity does not have to be carried out all in one go, but can be built up over the day. So it can be quite easy to build up one hour of physical activity over the day, that one hour is enough to keep your body healthy.
Physical exercise provides health benefits that cannot be obtained in any other way. It is central to almost all other aspects of a healthy lifestyle. And you really don't need to suffer to do the sorts of activities we're looking for. The greatest benefit to health is obtained by changing from a "sedentary" lifestyle (more or less a "couch potato") to doing 60 minutes of activity a day, such as walking, bicycling, climbing steps, or working in the garden.
* Exercise is one of the most important aspects of maintaining weight.
* Exercise makes it a lot easier, and increases the chances of success.
* Your blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose levels are elevated? Exercise helps control every one of these processes, perhaps to the point that medications can be decreased or eliminated (under your physician's supervision).
* Even if you don't have any of these health problems, exercise clearly will help your health. The simple act of regular exercise can be shown to prolong your life.
* Just about all of us have been on an exercise program at one time or another, and can attest that our bodies feel better, and we feel better about ourselves.
* Exercise helps with so many other health issues: Arthritis, osteoporosis, breast cancer, colon cancer. . . .
Just as achieving a healthy weight doesn't mean you need to look like a mode, achieving a healthy level of physical fitness is not a matter of doing all of the things you see athletes do on TV or in fitness magazines. This tends to be discouraging and make it harder to achieve a much more satisfying goal: a healthy fitness program. You don't need to be an "athlete" to have a healthy level of activity. And it's not just for the young -- exercise benefits the elderly more than their younger counterparts. The program just needs to be tailored to the appropriate fitness levels.
"Regular aerobic physical activity increases a person's capacity for exercise. It also plays a role in both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. There is a relationship between physical inactivity and cardiovascular mortality.
Exercise can help control blood lipid abnormalities, diabetes and obesity. Aerobic exercise also has an independent, modest blood-pressure-lowering effect for certain groups of people with high blood pressure.
The results of pooled studies show that persons who modify their behavior after heart attack to include regular exercise have better rates of survival. Healthy persons - as well as many patients with cardiovascular disease - can improve their exercise performance"
(Quoted from http://www.scs.unt.edu/classes.com)
Benefits exercise/physical activity has on the following illnesses/diseases:
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
Exercise if done correctly can have a big impact on heart disease especially CHD, as regular exercise increases beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which protects against arteriosclerosis. It also increases heart efficiency, lower blood pressure helps control body weight, balances blood-clotting factors and reduces stress. All these factors can put a persons health at serious risk and therefore is important that a person does an hour of exercise a day.
Lack of physical activity is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Regular, moderate-to-vigorous exercise plays a significant role in preventing heart and blood vessel disease. Even moderate-intensity physical activities are beneficial if done regularly and long term. More vigorous activities are associated with more benefits. Exercise can help control blood cholesterol,
Hypertension:
Physical fitness may help prevent hypertension, and persons who already have high blood pressure may lower their blood pressure by means of a regular exercise program. The relationship between blood pressure and exercise may involve insulin resistance because increased insulin resistance was coupled with low physical fitness in normotensive men (men with normal blood pressure) with a family history of hypertension. Regular exercise may prevent hypertension, and thereby protect against the development of cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes
Exercise has many benefits for those with Diabetes. Regular exercise combined with a well balanced healthy diet could keep you from taking medication. If you are on insulin or diabetic medication, it will help to better control blood glucose.
Exercise has been shown to have dramatic benefits in both patients with Type-1 and Type-2 Diabetes. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity. When this happens, blood glucose levels are lowered. The reason this occurs is that exercising muscles require more glucose to meet their energy needs. Regular exercise helps prevent continued high levels of glucose in the blood.
Regular exercise also helps you lose weight. Not only will you look and feel better because of weight loss, excessive weight is often the cause of decreased insulin sensitivity. Insulin is the hormone that is necessary to remove glucose from the blood to be absorbed by cells in the body for storage and fuel.
Obesity:
This is another factor that creates great concern as it is beginning to become a major health risk. Obesity is beginning to become one of Britons worst killers, as it causes many major heart problems cancer and generally poor health. Exercise can help irradiate this illness. If people were to burn of all their fat stores then less colestrol would build up and blockages in pulmonary arteries will not occur, putting a stop to heart problems. General exercise also makes the body feel good, and therefore makes you feel good leading to a healthier lifestyle.
Arthritis
This is the opposite to the above, as too much exercise or too much strain on the joint can lead to arthritis. The majority of footballers in their mid 40's suffer from arthritis in their knees as a result of too much exercise. It is important that when exercising that you do not strain your joints to much as you will regret it later on in life. But on the other hand exercise can be a good way to prevent arthritis, this is linked with obesity. Water immersion exercises are a good way of preventing arthritis as it puts less strain on your joints when moving or exercising. But obese people put a lot of strain on their joints as they are usually pretty heavy and there for can lead to althritis.
Task 2 (a)
Psychological benefits of exercise:
Introduction:
The psychological benefits of regular exercise can be as significant as the physical. Some, such as better self-esteem, come as an indirect result of exercise and are fairly subjective.
Others are a direct consequence of chemical activity triggered by physical exertion - for example, people suffering from depression or anxiety are often 'prescribed' exercise. Brain chemicals released during exercise, such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and endorphins, are known to have strong effects on mood, helping reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and depression, while also helping to strengthen your immune system.
Twenty different types of endorphin have been discovered in the nervous system, and the beta-endorphins secreted during exercise have the most powerful effect. Sometimes described as 'runners high', the release of beta-endorphins reduces pain (the reason why running becomes easier after about 20 minutes) and stimulates feelings of euphoria - which is why so many people feel invigorated and enthusiastic after exercise.
Other psychological side effects of exercise include:
* Improved self-esteem and greater sense of self-reliance and self-confidence
* Improved mental alertness, perception and information processing
* Increased perceptions of acceptance by others
* Decreased overall feelings of stress and tension
* Reduced frustration with daily problems, and a more constructive response to disappointments and failures
These psychological benefits can be just as important as the more obvious physical ones; most of us exercise in the first place because we are unhappy about something, whether it is that spare tyre, worries about general health, or just being sick of feeling tired and unfit.
The psychological benefits of exercise are often overlooked. Today's society greatly focuses on the physical benefits of exercise, such as weight loss, toned muscles and "six-pack abs." Although these are remarkable benefits, the psychological benefits can be just as, if not more significant than the physical benefits dependent on your needs and goals.
How Does Exercise Cause Psychological Changes?
Many theories about the psychological benefits of exercise have surfaced from exercise physiology and sports psychology. One common area of study is neurochemistry. Scientists believe that when exercising, chemicals called endorphins are produced in the brain and released into the body. The word endorphin is abbreviated from the phrase "endogenous morphine" which means morphine produced naturally by the body.
Endorphins are thought to relieve stress and pain naturally, giving one an euphoric and invigorating feeling. This is also known as "runner's high." Other theories focus more on the indirect effects of exercise. A popular opinion is that exercise may create a distraction and provide an "outlet" from everyday sources of stress, therefore positively enhancing one's mental condition. Also, another thought is that muscle tension tends to be reduced after a good exercise session and this can promote a feeling of relaxation and calmness.
What are the Psychological Benefits of Exercise?
There are many psychological benefits of physical activity. The most common are listed below:
Decreased Daily and Chronic Stress: Exercise is one of the best ways to decrease stress. As stated above, exercise can help relieve stress by the release of endorphins and/or by creating an outlet from daily tension and anxiety. With less stress, many individuals will begin to feel more energized and alive. An exercise session is a great time to watch television, listen to music or read a good book or magazine.
Improved Self-Confindence and Body Image: Today, many people are unhappy with their physical appearance. By exercising regularly, most people will begin to see positive physical change. When individuals start seeing these results, they tend to be proud of their success and feel good about who they are. Many times this enhances body image perception and self-confidence.
Increased Mental Alertness: Stress and fatigue negatively affect concentration, comprehension and memory. Since exercise is a great way to alleviate stress and increase energy levels, a regular exercise routine will enhance mental alertness and can improve overall mental health.
Alleviate Depression: Studies show that regular exercise can greatly alleviate and in some cases prevent the symptoms of depression. The exact physiological reason is unknown, but scientists believe that enhancing body image, elevating moods and improving one's health and physical appearance can all help boost self-confidence and create a feeling of success, therefore alleviating depression symptoms.
Task 2 (b)
The potential of exercise for reducing depression:
Depression is recognised as a mood state, clinical syndrome and psychiatric condition. In order to place exercise therapy into context, more established methods for treating clinical depression need to be discussed.
Without doubt regular, low impact, aerobic exercise like walking is an under-used, powerful therapeutic tool in helping us to manage stress, anxiety and depression. Research indicates that there are immense benefits to our psychological and physical health when we exercise on a daily basis. Lack of exercise, is one causative factor in the development of clinical depression. Never in the whole of our previous evolutionary span have we exercised less than we do today.
Low impact exercises like walking and swimming are probably the best forms of exercise to take. These supply the benefits without the risks of injuries such as back and knee-joint problems that can occur in high impact exercise. Walking and swimming are relatively cheap, you don't have to pay gym fees and require little in the way of special sports clothing or equipment.
"Research has indicated that regular exercise has numerous psychological and physiological effects upon our biochemistry. It has been shown to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, reduce blood clotting time so reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack, help the gall bladder to drain, burn up stress hormones, cause muscles to relax, increase serotonin levels, stimulate relaxation response, improve insulin resistance, improve blood cholesterol profile, boost immune function, boost endorphin levels, increase muscle/fat ratio, improve lung function, stabilise blood sugar levels, lower oestrogen levels, lower blood pressure and much, much more."
Research indicates that disturbances in the balance of three brain chemicals - Dopamine, Noradrenaline and Serotonin - have been linked as being factors involved in the development of clinical depression and other psychological health problems. Exercise has been shown to boost the anti-depressive effects of these brain chemicals and reduce depression.
"Researchers reviewed the data on the role of exercise in combating depression and found that regular exercise helps to relieve depression. In fact exercise is so potent that research has shown it can be as effective as psychotherapy in helping to manage clinical depression. Research published in the British Medical Journal indicated that when a group of hospitalized people suffering clinical depression exercised regularly for nine weeks, their depression scores were significantly lower than a control group who did not exercise."
Since World War II Clinical depression has been increasing and it is thought this is partly due to the fact that we have become more sedentary. Exercise can not only help to treat depression it can also prevent depression. In one study of 1,500 people the odds of being depressed were more than three times higher for people who did not exercise when compared to those who did.
Research has also indicated that people with clinical depression who exercise regularly have less chance of a future depressive episode than people with depression who do not exercise.
Task 3 (a)
Government Health Campaigns:
. Cigarette packets state on them that "smoking causes cancer," why?
On every cigarette packet in Britain the quote "Smoking Kills," or "Smoking Causes Cancer," must be labeled or printed on the cigarette packet. Since doctors have researched and found out the devastating effects that smoking has on the body such as, lung cancer, mouth cancer etc Britain's government have forced cigarette companies to put these quotes on the cigarette boxes to try and make people aware of the effects smoking can have.
Many years ago this would have been an appropriate phrase, when people were uneducated about the health hazards that smoking can cause, but today the government have made sure that we are educated and understand the risks involved when smoking.
In my opinion Tony Blair and his government are not particularly worried about Britain's population of cigarette smokers, but are just trying to 'pull the wool over our eyes' and act concerned in order for him to get our vote and to stay in power. If Tony Blair was really concerned about Britain's cigarette smokers then he would make sure that the countries cigarette manufacturers would be made to stop altogether.
Tony Blair just pretends to be concerned and is really out for money. The campaign is really a failure because more and more people die from lung cancer every year, and more and more unaware teenagers take up smoking every day. It is an on growing habit and can lead to serious health risks.
In 1974 it was calculated that 13 million adults in the UK smoke - 29.1 of men and 25.1 of women. There has been a recent decline but mainly in older age groups, at least 450 children start smoking everyday. Every year, around 120, 000 smokers in the UK as a result of smoking. Smoking causes 301 of all cancer related deaths, 171 of all related heart disease deaths and 801 deaths from Bronchitis and emphysema.
The UK government carried £9.616 million from tobacco in 2000 and it's estimated that 57 million is spent every year on tobacco advertisement. One good thing that the government have produced is to spread millions over three years on health campaigns against tobacco use. But I have not seen much done yet!
Tony Blair has stopped advertisements of tobacco companies on Formula 1 racing cars, but what about other smoking advertisements in other sports, and still the younger generation continuous to smoke even though the age limit for purchasing cigarettes is still 16 years of age. This is something that I believe is in his power to do, which is alter the age limit from 16 to 18. Smoking in my opinion is even worse than drinking alcohol but the age limit for smoking is below the alcohol age limit. The government need to take a look at this problem in my opinion, and stop being to concerned about profit.
2. Can smaller portions end obesity?
America's mightiest food company is to cut its portion sizes and stop marketing in schools in response to concerns about obesity.
"Customers' healthy eating habits are not Kraft Foods' sole motivation for altering its products as the food maker confesses it is fearful about obesity-related lawsuits."
"McDonalds, which is facing a lawsuit from a group of obese children, now promotes a new range of salads on its menu."
"Coca Cola and Pepsi have also been condemned for marketing deals where schools are given extra funds for stocking only the donor's drinks."
The above are a phew of the governments idea's to help people cut down on eating too much and doing very little exercise.
The number of people worldwide who are overweight now rivals the number who are underweight, according to the World Health Organisation - obesity is a growing problem. In the UK, 15% of men and 18% of women are clinically obese, while the figures in the US are closer to 25%. The search for anti-obesity drugs and ways of controlling body metabolism is more than simply helping people to slim, it could be a lifesaver as there are some serious health risks associated with being overweight.
The main cause of obesity is overeating, gorging on foods high in sugar, carbohydrates and fats and insufficient exercise. Foods like sweets, chocolates, fried snacks, wafers, and chips have high calorie value and are low on nutrient. Thus one tends to add excess calories which are not burnt and are converted to adipose tissue. Overall, in calorie terms it can be concluded that input is in excess of output or calorie spent.
In my opinion the younger generations in today's societies are the first to have grown up in an environment where food containing high fat, high sugar is readily available. Of course when we are constantly exposed to commercials, fast food restaurants, offering us huge portions of great tasting food, it is no wonder that we can find ourselves eating a day's worth of calories in one sitting. It is a basic human instinct to consume as much food as possible while it is available in order to build energy to survive future periods when food is scarce. It is going to be a difficult task, but reducing the availability and consumption of high calorie, low nutrition foods is the only way to tackle the obesity epidemic - reducing portion sizes is definitely a step in the right direction.
But what must be underlined is the fact that no matter what we eat, we will still become overweight unless we exercise daily. Exercise is the main form of loosing weight. Not only does exercise help loose weight but helps a person relieve stress, and the brain releases chemicals whilst participating in physical activity which makes you feel good.
The government need to make more effort and concentrate more on exercise campaigns and help people realise the benefits that exercise can have on the body.
Task 3 (b)
Where these government campaigns successful?
Cigarette packets state on them that "smoking causes cancer," why? + Can smaller portions end obesity?
These government campaigns were not very successful in my opinion because if we look at the statistics, we can see that the campaigns have not had a very big impact at all on the death rates that smoking and obesity have caused. Therefor we can safely conclude that by using this statistical evidence, both campaigns were unsuccessful. But reducing portion sizes is definitely a step in the right direction.
Opinion on smoking:
In my opinion Tony Blair and his government are not particularly worried about Britain's population of cigarette smokers, but are just trying to 'pull the wool over our eyes' and act concerned in order for him to get our vote and to stay in power. If Tony Blair was really concerned about Britain's cigarette smokers then he would make sure that the countries cigarette manufacturers would be made to stop altogether.
Tony Blair just pretends to be concerned and is really out for money. The campaign is really a failure because more and more people die from lung cancer every year, and more and more unaware teenagers take up smoking every day. It is an on growing habit and can lead to serious health risks.
Opinion on Obesity:
In my opinion the younger generations in today's societies are the first to have grown up in an environment where food containing high fat, high sugar is readily available. Of course when we are constantly exposed to commercials, fast food restaurants, offering us huge portions of great tasting food, it is no wonder that we can find ourselves eating a day's worth of calories in one sitting. It is a basic human instinct to consume as much food as possible while it is available in order to build energy to survive future periods when food is scarce. It is going to be a difficult task, but reducing the availability and consumption of high calorie, low nutrition foods is the only way to tackle the obesity epidemic - reducing portion sizes is definitely a step in the right direction.
I believe that we can safely say that these to problems are ever growing and it is important that something is done about them immediately before they grow out of proportion. The government need to start again with these campaigns and not think about profit but the death tole!
Andrew Jakeman BTEC Sport Science
Assignment 2
