Ch. 4 Physical Health And Well-Being

        After reading Chapter 4, I have become more aware of the importance that physical health and well-being have on the aging process. The text clearly explained the patterns and development of normal aging and although there is nothing one can do to stop aging, there are a lot of things we can do to promote a healthy status and pattern of normal aging. Aging is both chronological and biological, therefore just because we are 70 years old does not mean that our body must perform slow and without ease. With proper diet, exercise, healthy habits, and minimizing stress from our daily lives, we can provide our bodies with the proper tools it needs to operate at its best. Chronic diseases and major health conditions can be minimized by a large percentage later in life by choosing to make those changes early in life. 
    However, millions of Americans are still suffering from obesity and chronic/acute conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer. If we know what types of things are causing majority of the onset of these problems and what we can do to change it, why are we still suffering in such large numbers? Studies show that inactive or sedentary lifestyles are associated with increased risk of all major health problems (Katzmarzyk, Church, Craig, & Bouchard, 2009; Stamatakis, Hamer, & Dunstan, 2011). We must realize that there are many factors that keep us from engaging in a more active and healthy lifestyle throughout the duration of our lives such as occupations requiring to sit at a desk or stand in one place for several hours, easy access to fast food, and high levels of stress. All of these factors, plus environmental and pure chance (Hiller, S.M., Barrow, G.M. 2007) contribute to the reasons as to why we are suffering from so many diseases. Recognizing where our weaknesses are and making time and effort for as many changes as we can  make to our daily patterns of life can prove to make a dramatic effect on the longevity of our bodies. 

 References:

Boehm, J. K., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2012). The heart's content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health. Psychological Bulletin, 138(4), 655-691. doi:10.1037/a0027448
Hillier, S.M and Barrow, G.M. (2007). Aging, the individual and society. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.