Diet and Exercise Flashcards
Introduction
Another lifestyle choice that can be blamed for ill health in the population is diet and exercise
Explain
Poor diet and exercise can be causing high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, and malnutrition. Those with poor diet and exercise are much more likely to suffer from one of these illnesses
Example
The significance of poor diet on health by a report by the Scottish health survey 2021 found that 1 in 20 adult cancer cases are linked to individuals being overweight
Analysis
This suggests that considering obesity is the second largest preventable cause of cancer, poor diet and exercise could arguably be more significant than some other factors in causing health inequalities.
Rebuttal
However, many people argue that gender may be more important than poor diet and exercise in causing health inequalities in Scotland.
Explain 2
This is because in most medical practises, many doctors are male which means that female specific health conditions can be ignored and misunderstood – access to contraception and high-quality maternity care are detriments of health in women.
Example 2
For example, mental health is a massively gendered issue in Scotland– depression is reportedly twice as prevalent amongst women than men (low-income women in particular).
Analysis 2
This means that because women’s issues such as the menstrual cycle are not provided for – sanitary products having to be paid for, meaning many women in deprived areas are unable to keep themselves clean and healthy – gender could arguably be more significant than some other factors in causing health inequalities in Scotland.
Link
Overall, the evidence highlighted in a Food Standards Scotland report, which found around 32% of adults living in the most deprived areas are obese compared with 20% of those living in the least deprived areas. This shows a larger effect than gender does when talking about health inequalities in Scotland.
