February 2017 – Page 6

Are Scottish People Healthy?

After reading the Glasgow Effect article it has been proven that Glasgow in Scotland are a lot unhealthier than other cities in the U.K. After researching further, I have found that Britain is labelled ‘ The Fat man of Europe’ (NHS). In 2015, 65% of adults and aged 16 and over were overweight, including 29% […]

In 2015, 65% of adults and aged 16 and over were overweight, including 29% who were obsese in Scotland (Gov.Scot). Obesity is causing strain on health services such as the NHS. The annual cost to NHS Scotland of oversight and obesity combined may be as much at 600 million( parliament.scot).

Obesity is also causing premature death as it also leads to conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and more.

It is clear an apparantemt that our country is not healthy with governments having to introduce implement laws to help Scotland’s wellbeing. As a future educator I want to educate children to help them to live the healthiest and happiest life.

The Glasgow Effect

Glasgow experiences high levels of poor health and deprivation which is linked to socio-economic circumstances. However, there is an unexplained reason as to why Glasgows health and life expectancy is lower and poorer compared to other cities in the UK. Liverpool and Manchester also are experiences poor health and deprivation in their cities. All three cities have high levels of poverty and low life expectancies which is also influenced by at risk behaviours such as smoking, alcohol and drug intake. The study’s aim is to investigate the ‘Scottish Effect’ and the ‘Glasgow Effect’ by comparing and looking closely at the three cities which share similar histories who have high mortality associated with known problems of deprivation.

Studied were carried out to compare three cities. A study in 2005 showed that the people’s income who lived in Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester incomes where deprived.

As we live in a culture and society where jobs are not secure and many children are brought up in deprived areas, it has a significant effect on our health. With fast foods being cheaper than a home cooked meal, Scotland’s obesity levels are rising with around 2/3 of the population being obese (BCC,2010). This has a significant effect on our society as diseases such as obesity is causing people to die younger.

Religion – 16/1/2017

It is impossible to say how many religions there are across the world from old age religions like christianity and buddhism to the increasing number of new ones evolving like the Jedi knights to humanists. This input really opened my eyes up to this and how religion is not as clear cut as it may … Continue reading Religion – 16/1/2017 →

Are Scottish people healthy?

In my own opinion, I find it hard to determine either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for the answer to this question. I am aware that Scotland is well known for its unhealthy foods such as irn bru, deep fried mars bars, tablet and shortbread, however this does not mean that we are totally unhealthy. Scotland has a lower life expectancy than other countries, but it has increased by about 7 years in the last 34 years, so surely this is evidence that we are trying to change our health habits. I believe that yes, some people’s diets may not be very good but I don’t think it’s fair to brand everyone as unhealthy as there will be many people who are very healthy and eat well.

The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect is the low life expectancy and poor health of people living in the area. Poor health is often related to low levels of income. A study shows that the most deprived areas of Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool are very similar, however in Glasgow, premature deaths are 30% higher. The life expectancy of men in Glasgow is almost 7 years below the national average and for woman it is 4 years below. alcohol consumption, smoking and obesity are all factors leading to poor health which is why the mortality rate is lower.

The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect was a measurement of the poor health, poverty and deprivation rates in Glasgow compared to that of two other cities in England. The study found that Glasgow did indeed have the highest rate of each aspect studied, thus showing that their hypothesis was correct. It was found that the gap between life expectancies in the most deprived and affluent areas was increasing due to the poor health and poverty. ‘SHeS’ data was used to investigate differences between dietary habits in Glasgow and other areas of Scotland. It was found that poor health was partly a result of poor diet, alcohol consumption, obesity and smoking. This showed why the mortality rate for those in Glasgow was lower than that of other areas in the UK.

Overall, researchers found that they do indeed believe there is a ‘Glasgow Effect’. However, they mentioned that they cannot be completely sure or rove that this is the case due to not having enough evidence to do so and there maybe being other explanations as to why the poor health rate, deprivation and poverty levels are higher.

Inclusion, equality and disability.

In the two inputs about inclusion, equality and disability, I learned a lot about what inclusion is and also the extent to which minorities are not included or treated as equals. We learned about the individual, relational and societal levels of inclusion and how each one is important. Inclusion, being the antidote to exclusion of people due to their sexual orientation, ethnical background etc, is closely linked with equality. Equality in the workplace, in society, in relationships/friendships etc is very important as everyone deserves to have a voice and give their opinion. Allport’s scale of prejudice and discrimination shows the extent to which some people are not included and not given a voice.

We also discussed disability in detail and how people are excluded due to having a disability. We looked into the attitudes towards disability and how people treat those with a disability differently. Examples of this were discussed in the tutorial as we looked at how teachers treated students with disabilities and in each case, it seemed to be discrimination.

Religion, Culture and ‘Unchurched’ Spirituality

Religion and culture are two aspects which influence each other, according to this input. We discussed religious culture as a form of identity and as a way of life. It is clear to see that a persons religion influences how they dress and how they act etc. The theories we looked at by Karl Marx and Max Weber showed the positive and negative aspects of being dependent on a religion. Karl Marx described religion as the ‘opium of the people’ (the drug that deadens the soul). The two theorists had opposite ideas about religion and its effect on the economy, population and society as a whole.

‘Unchurched’ Spirituality are the forms of spirituality which are not involved in a church i.e. people with beliefs not associated with any churches. The pros and cons of this were discussed. My opinion is that although there are negative aspects, unchurched spirituality allows people to express their beliefs and embrace their own spirituality rather than adapting to a religion which already exists.

Societies and Lifestyles – Week 5 – 20/2/17

As I said last week; this week was the beginning of a new unit on health and well being within cultures and societies. I found today very interesting as it was mainly focused on at risk behaviours for individuals. We began with an interactive quiz which got us all moving about on a Monday morning. […]

Religion, Society and Diversity

In this input, we discussed the true meaning of religion and what it means to be religious. The believer’s approach and the scholarly approach were looked at in detail. Upon researching these aspects and discussing the pros and cons of having a religion, I believe that it is important and beneficial to some people as it gives them hope and, in some cases, a reason to live. However, in terms of religious cults, which we looked at in detail, I feel that some religions cannot be considered healthy or of any great help to believers in any way as it is having such a negative impact on them and leading them to believe suicide is the only option they have to be pure and be with God.

We also considered religious diversity as a positive and negative aspect in society. I believe religious diversity is important as it allows everyone to expand their knowledge of other peoples religion and helps them to learn to respect other peoples beliefs.

Overall, this input gave a really good insight into the good and bad of different religions as it showed the ways in which religion helps people but also how it hinders them.