Inequalities in Health: Lifestyle Factors

Inequalities in Health: Lifestyle Factors

L.I. To understand the impact of lifestyle choices on health • Success Criteria • Provide evidence that lifestyle choices impact on health • Poor diet • Lack of physical activity • Smoking • Alcohol • Draw conclusions on the extent to which lifestyle choices affect health • Begin to make connections between lifestyle choices and socio-economic factors

Exercise Smoking, drinking and drugs Lifestyle and Health • A person’s lifestyle is believed to have a significant effect on their health. Lifestyle factors include: Obesity Diet &

Diet

What is a ‘healthy diet’? • Government recommendations: • Controlled amounts of fat, salt and sugar • At least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day • 2500 calories a day for men and 2000 calories women

The James Report (1993) The average Scottish diet is: deficient in fibre and certain vitamins deficient in fruit and vegetables too high in sugar too high in salt too high in saturated fat. Scotland's Diet

(un)Healthy eating in Scotland • Just 22% of men and 23% of women met the “5 a day” target • The mean daily salt intake for adults was 16% higher than the recommended maximum • The average adult man in Scotland consumes more than 54,000 excess calories every year and the average woman consumes more than 33,000 excess calories per year Scottish Health Survey 2011 By how many calories are Scottish men and women overeating per day, on average?

Physical activity

What does the Scottish Government recommend? • At least half an hour of “moderate” physical activity, on all or most days of the week

Lack of physical activity • Notice the existence of a “north-south divide”

Benefits to Health ofRegular Exercise • 25% of strokes could be avoided and there could be a 20% reduction in mortality after a heart attack, if regular exercise was taken • Yet, according to the Scottish Health Survey 2011 67% of women 55% of men do not get enough regular exercise and there has been no significant improvement in activity levels since 2008 ''Sport for All'' campaigns

Poor diet and lack of exercise have resulted in rising levels of obesity poor diet • High fat content – we eat 50% more fat than in 1960 lack of exercise Energy imbalance • Energy expenditure amongst children has decreased by 800 calories a day since the 1950s • Not only are Britons getting heavier, they are getting heavier younger.

Obesity BMI = weight in kg height in m2 Obesity is calculated by a person’s body mass index – BMI – weight in kg divided by height in m2 BMI > 25 = overweight BMI > 30 = obese

Obesity Obesity in the UK In Scotland 69% of men and 59% of women are classified as overweight (2012) and 27% of adults are obese (2011) The rate of obesity in 1995 was just 17%

ObesityInternational Comparison (2009)

Percent of children who are of healthy weight (Scottish Health Survey 2011)

Obesity Link between excess weight and ill health • Being overweight can lead to a variety of health problems. • These include: • high blood pressure • coronary heart disease • osteoarthritis • Diabetes • Cancer • Direct costs to the NHS related to obesity are estimated at £5.1bn per year in England and Wales and £175m in Scotland

Link between excessweight and ill health

Smoking • 23% of adults in Scotland smoke (down from 28% in 2003) • Rates are similar for men and women (24% vs. 22%) but on average, women smoke fewer cigarettes per day

Smoking and health • Tobacco smoking is a known or probable cause of approx 25 diseases • Also contributes to, or aggravates, other health conditions • Smoking causes 13,500 deaths a year in Scotland – that's 24% of all deaths • Smokers also die younger – 10 years younger, on average, than those who have never smoked • Smokers in their 30s and 40s are five times more likely to have a heart attack than non smokers

Smoking and cancer • Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the UK • 90% of lung cancers are smoking related and smokers are 21 times more likely to die from the disease • Also linked to other cancers • Oral, uterine, liver… etc

Smoking and children • Smoking in pregnancy increases the chances of miscarriage and is associated with low birth weight • Smoking by parents following birth is linked to sudden infant death syndrome and infant respiratory illness such as bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia • 19% of pregnant women in Scotland smoke (down from 29% in 1995)

Alcohol consumption • Recommended max. alcohol intake • Men: 21 units per week • Women: 14 units per week

Alcohol and health • Most people who drink to excess are NOT alcoholics • Even so, regularly drinking too much can contribute to a range of health conditions, including: • Reduced fertility • Heart disease • Cancer of the mouth, neck, throat and breast • Liver cirrhosis • High blood pressure • Weight gain

Scotland’s relationship with alcohol • 25% of men and 18% of women were categorized as hazardous or harmful drinkers in 2011 • 1 in 20 Scots die from alcohol related causes • not only from illnesses but also from accidents, assaults and road deaths in which alcohol played a part • BUT alcohol related deaths have been falling since 2003 (although total alcohol sales have gone up)

For you to do • Summarise the impact of lifestyle choices on health • To what extent are Scotland’s lifestyle habits improving? • Create a mind map showing the factors and influences that you think shape a person’s lifestyle choices • Analysis question: To what extent is Scotland’s place as the “sick man of Europe” linked to the lifestyle choices of the people who live here?

Inequalities in Health: Lifestyle Factors