by Larry Lounsbury

Created on: June 18, 2009   Last Updated: June 19, 2009

Social inequality causes a lifestyle that tends to promote inadequate health care.

Changes are needed in our country.In America, many citizens do not have adequate health care coverage, but access might not be as much of an issue as life style. Why?

A person's lifestyle can greatly determine the amount of healthcare they will need throughout their life. Those who prefer to live dangerously by drinking heavily, smoking, and taking drugs, may be in more need of healthcare than someone who prefers a healthier lifestyle. Also with so many fast food establishments and decreased physical activity in the workplace, the population of the United States is becoming increasingly unhealthy.

Health is equivalent to a form of social control that encourages compliance to cultural norms (Macionis 382). Society and culture affects a person's health in basic ways. "Health therefore, is sometimes a matter of having the same diseases as one's neighbor" (Macionis 382). One disease that is on the rise in the United States is obesity. Naturally, a good meal can be a great reward for a hard day at work, but there are a great many people in the United States, including young children, that have no common sense in terms of the type of foods they eat and also the amounts they consume. People view lifestyles that are morally good as healthy. It is acceptable to be working under stressful conditions that can contribute to heart disease along with other illnesses.. Some people with type A personality are driven to succeed at the expense of their health, but it is an acceptable cultural norm in the United States (Macionis 385).

Cultural standards of health can change over time. It used to be thought that women should not attend college since it strained their brains. Masturbation was also considered a threat to one's health (Macionis 382). It is only fairly recently that the danger of getting skin cancer from too much exposure to the sun has been brought to our attention. Smoking is also a very dangerous lifestyle. Many people smoke because of the stress of low paying jobs, divorce, or separation. In the past, tobacco has been popularized in movies. Teens thought it was cool to smoke. The dangers involved from smoking cigarettes were also not truly known for many years. This lifestyle adversely affected the health of many people until regulations were passed that forced the billon dollar tobacco industry to admit it caused major health issues. (Macionis 386).

Bathing patterns

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