Lifestyle and Health Lecture

Question 1

Define lifestyle

Answer 1

A person’s style of living, including consumption and habits, based on their available choices and decision making

Question 2

What are the key features of a healthy lifestyle?

Answer 2

A healthy diet
A healthy level of physical activity
A healthy body weight
Not smoking
A moderate alcohol intake

Question 3

Why is lifestyle important in public health?

Answer 3

Epidemiological evidence shows their is an association between individual behaviours/lifestyle and health outcomes

Question 4

What are the key lifestyle factors that affect health?

Answer 4

Smoking
Alcohol
Illegal drugs
Sedentary lifestyle
Poor diet
Unsafe sex
Stress

Question 5

What are the health risks of smoking?

Answer 5

Increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease

Question 6

What are the health risks of alcohol?

Answer 6

Increased risk of cancer, obesity and cardiovascular disease

Question 7

What are the health risks of illegal drugs?

Answer 7

Increased risk of blood borne viruses including HBV, HCV and HIV
Increased risk of mental health conditions

Question 8

What are the health risks of sedentary lifestyle?

Answer 8

Increased risk of obesity
Cardiovascular disease
Cancer

Question 9

What are the health risks of poor diet?

Answer 9

Increased risk of obesity
Cancer
Cardiovascular disease

Question 10

What are the health risks of unsafe sex?

Answer 10

Increased risk of STIs
Unwanted pregnancies

Question 11

What are the health risks of stress?

Answer 11

High blood pressure
Heart disease
Obesity
Diabetes

Question 12

How does lifestyle link to non-communicable disease?

Answer 12

Lifestyle includes modifiable behaviours
Modifiable behvaiours are prevantable causes of non-communicable disease. And make up the majority of the death burden from NCDs
The key behaviours associated with non-communicable disease are:
Tobacco, alcohol, insufficient physical activity and excess salt/sodium intake

Question 13

What are the four main types of non-communicable disease?
What order are they the biggest killers?

Answer 13

Cardiovascular diseases
Cancer
Chronic Respiratory Diseases
Diabetes

Question 14

Why is non communicable disease a problem?

Answer 14

Kills 41 million people annually, 74% of global deaths
The majority of deaths are premature
Majority in low and middle-income countries

Question 15

Why is cardiovascular disease a problem in the UK that should be tackled by public health?

Answer 15

Accounts for 1 in 4 deaths in England

Question 16

Why is diabetes a major public health problem?

Answer 16

Large cause of premature mortality 22,000 people a year
Growing problem
Large number of undiagnosed and people at a high risk of developing diabetes

Question 17

How common is obesity in the UK?

Answer 17

28% of children aged 2 to 15yrs are overweight or obese
63% of adults are overweight or obese
If trends continue by 2034 1 in 3 adults will be obese

Question 18

How does obesity link to diabetes?

Answer 18

1 in 10 obese will develop type 2 diabetes
Influenced by:
-body fat distribution
-large wasit circumference
However, is important to note not all those with type 2 diabetes are obese

Question 19

How common is diabetes in the UK?

Answer 19

90% of cases are type 2
8% of cases are type 1
6% of the population are diabetic

Question 20

What are the global obesity trends?

Answer 20

Tripled since 1975
39% adults overweight, additional 13% are obese
Most countries overweight is more life threatening than underweight
Rates in children increasing

Question 21

What are the different BMI values related to weight?

Answer 21

Underweight - less than 18.5
Overweight from 25
Obese from 30
Morbidly obese from 40

Question 22

In England what characteristics are associated with a higher risk of obesity?
Can you suggest why?

Answer 22

More deprived - access to fast food, healthy food, exercise facilities and time to exercise
Black ethnicity - linked to deprivation, discrimination
Disabled - access to services

Question 23

What are the obesity trends in children?
What are the implication of this?

Answer 23

Rapid increase in obesity rates, obesity occuring at younger age groups
More common in deprived areas
Links to the lifecourse model, require early intervention before life style solidified, increase health inequalities later in life

Question 24

What are the trends between obesity and deprivation?

Answer 24

Being more deprived increases the risk of obesity in males, females and children.
Greatest effect on women and children
Increased number of obesity related hospital admissions and complications, exaggerate deprivation in an area by increasing costs for the NHS

Question 25

What are the factors affecting physical activity in children and adults?

Answer 25

Age group - activity decreases with age, slow decline until age 74yrs, then a rapid decline.
Deprivation level - slightly lower levels of activity in more deprived areas, this is amongst adults and children

Question 26

What is important to consider about the density of fast food outlet statistics in England and obesity rates?

Answer 26

Higher density of fast food outlets in more deprived areas
These areas also have a higher rate of obesity.

Question 27

How does consumption of five a day vary by region in England?

Answer 27

The highest level is 16% of people eating five a day in south east.
Lowest is the North East at 5% of adults
Typically increases as travel south

Question 28

How does smoking link to deprivation?
What is the reason for this?

Answer 28

Higher in more deprived areas
More than doubles between most and least deprived areas
- is NOT an education issue
- is often a circumstantial coping mechanism, higher levels of stress, more negative locus of control, poorer illusion of wellbeing

Question 29

How much does having a healthy lifestyle make a difference?

Answer 29

Following the five low risk lifestyle related factors could prolong life expectancy for 12 - 14 yrs.
Not following even one of these lifestyle factors can have a noticeable effect on health

Question 30

What are the five low risk lifestyle factors that it is recommended people follow?

Answer 30

Never smoke
Healthy weight
Regular physical activity
Healthy diet
Moderate alcohol consumption

Question 31

What is the lifestyle approach to public health?

Answer 31

Seeks to educate the individual to make changes to their lifestyle to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors. This change in behaviour is thought to improve health outcome

Question 32

What is meant by health responsibility?
What are the drawbacks of this?

Answer 32

Gives an emphasis on self-control of behaviour and indivudual responsibility over their decisions and health including their lifestyle

This fails to recognise the social and economic factors that influence a persons control over their life.

Question 33

What is meant by the social determinants of health?

Answer 33

Conditions in which people are born, grow, live and work that are responsible for the majority of health inequalities.
These circumstances are caused by the distribution of wealth, power and resources.
Are the indirect root cause of disease
Supports the idea that out health is also influenced by our social and community network, our living and working conditions and our socio-economic, culutural and environmental conditions.

Question 34

What factors have the most influence on peoples health?

Answer 34

Social economic factors - most important
Health behaviours
health care
Physical environment - least important

Question 35

What factors can encourage people to make certain lifestyle choices?

Answer 35

Stress management
Social norms - price, availability, legality
Mental illness (50% tobacco consumers)
Adverse childhood experiences

Question 36

What is meant by constriant on health?

Answer 36

Factors that prevent us from making suitable health decisions.
The idea that choice is relevant to circumstances
Behaviour can not be seperated from social context
Such as income.

Question 37

What are some of the negatives of the lifestyle approach to health?

Answer 37

• emphasis on choices, does not consider the barriers to making good choices
• encourages victim blaming, discourage help seeking behaviour
• increase stigma
• fails to recognise the social context of decison making
• ineffective, arguably been used for a long time with limited results

Question 38

What are the benefits of the lifestyle approach to health?

Answer 38

Centres on the individual and there life choices
Prevention method - tackles the risk of many diseases.
Shows that risk of disease is modifiable

Question 39

What are the successful methods of encouraging healthy lifestyle decisions?

Answer 39

Combine individual, community and population intervention
Change circumstances to make healthy choice the easy choice
Avoid victimising communities
Identify the communities in need.