Factors that influence women to adopt healthier lifestyles and engage in preventative behaviors so as to reduce their risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer:
*if they have seen a family member go through cancer or CVD
*if they participated in the care of that family member
*if they have taken any courses that talk about the risk factors of CVD and cancer and how to prevent these diseases
*classes that build self efficacy
*classes in physical education
*classes in nutrition
*many times when we see a family member adopting a healthy lifestyle, we will do the same. We like to have someone to buddy up with.
Sometimes we will see one or all of these factors and still not participate in preventative behaviors. I have a sibling that has seen my father go through cancer and still smokes, is overweight, and isn't proactive about leading a more healthy lifestyle. Everyone can do something to make themselves healthier.
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7 comments:
I agree with you. Seeing a family member struggle with a chronic disease can definetly change someone's opinion on their own health. Watching a person who you love going through an illness is hard, especially if you are the main caregiver. Many women will adopt healthier lifestyle changes after seeing a loved one suffer.
I agree that having someone to buddy up with helps a person tremendously. It motivates a person who is indecisive about starting an exercise program and adopting healthy eating habits. I do very well on watching what I eat, when my daughter visits from Kentucky, because she is very weight-conscious.
Jenn- I think that you are very right. I think the one thing that should make the biggest impact is losing someone close to you or watching someone go through the struggle and come out on top. If someone goes through all of this and still does not want to make healthier chooses than there is a deeper more emotional issue. Some people are just extremely stubborn and set in their ways, which is sad but true.
It is disheartening to say, but sometimes even with tiny pushes like someone to pair up with, people choose not to work on staying healthy. It is almost as if people in general believe that a bad health issue could happen to someone else, but oh never them. And even when it strikes someone close to them or directly related they still refuse to help themselves. It is almost as if they are shocked when they do have a heart attack or stroke or get cancer when they have been warned of it their entire lives and could have lessened the chances of getting it by doing simple behavior modifications.
There are tons of people out there who spend so much time blaming tobacco companies or fast food companies when they get ill, but in essence whose fault is it really. There have been warnings for a long time about smoking can cause lung cancer or too much fast foods and fats can lead to heart attacks, so with all of the information out there, people need to take responsibility for themselves and stop blaming others.
I love all the factors you have listed. It is saddening that sometimes we can all see the consequences of unhealthy behaviors and their relations to disease and mortality and still choose to ignore and continue with risky behaviors. I wholly agree with you that classes in building self-efficacy can be among the best single predictor of healthy living; imagine if you had this attitude of “I can do it” in taking control of your health and maintaining a good lifestyle to achieve it. Most people just need that little jumpstart to start living healthy.
I agree with everything you said. A lot of the time when you see someone you love surffering form chronic disease can really be a great motavatior. Also if there are classes offered to build self efficacy, physical education and nurition. I think thoes classes would be more helpful if they are offer in the community were the women and their family can have support form others around them.
I can totally agree with needing a partner to go to the gym with. Sometimes, the only thing that pushes me to wake up and get to the gym in the morning is knowing that my friend Jamie will be upset if I flake on her!
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