Italy Overall Health

In Communications Between Cultures individualism and collectivism are described by researchers as “self-orientation versus collective orientation as one of the basic pattern variables that determine human action.” These differences can be found in family life, school, and workplace

America is known for its advanced society and technology, but is also known to be one of the most obese populations. Found in “Down to Earth”, America is one of the most progressive countries to exist; therefore it should be the healthiest (“Obesity in America”). If America is so highly advanced, more advancement needs to be put towards obesity rates. As time goes on, adults and children are having to consequently expand their waistbands because of unhealthy habits. In an article previously discussed, Brown-well states that Americans are at an all-time low in exercising (Murray). By having less motivation to exercise, family health is at stake. Future generations need to be more pressured to keep physically fit for their health. With less motivation for a healthier lifestyle, communities across America will remain obese. According to CBS news, Americans prefer to consume Twinkies over Tofu (“The Blame Game”). With Americans not giving healthier options opportunity, less interest will be put into healthy options. Individuals are focusing on the pleasure of taste than their own well being. Internationally speaking, Americans have one of the strongest societies, but the weakest mindset for healthy living. With stubborn attitudes and continual unhealthy choices, obesity will not only stay but

The American health efficiency won 't be achieved through the increased consumption of fast foods, the American population should adopt better-eating habits and exercise approaches to ensure a healthy environment. Poor health habits are the leading causes of premature death among children and adults as indicated by WHO (2009). These habits increase the chance of health risks especially in cancer, heart diseases, and excessive weight gain. Fast foods consumption and lack of efficient physical activities inhibit the body 's performance by increasing or decreasing necessary nutrients to levels the body cannot operate efficiently.

The Italians’ holiday culture helped to make America a more diverse nation. Their family-centered culture and regional affiliations resulted in highly concentrated settlements called, Little Italies. Entire villages in Italy would travel over to America to form these settlements. Many were heavily clustered in cities in the mid-atlantic and midwest states. The immigrants typically viewed themselves as residents of a particular region or village, not as “Italians.” Their daily habits and life reflected this, as they usually only associated with fellow kin or villagers called paesani. The Italians were working on becoming a member of American society while still trying to maintain their old customs. During holidays, Italian immigrants still utilized traditional customs such as folk songs, folklore, and dances for special events. However, like so many of the Italian aspects of life, they were so regionally specific that they defied easy characterization.

What can Americans do to make a sedentary lifestyle change? Despite Americans unhealthy habits and the obesity epidemic plaguing the Country, a change in sedentary lifestyle such as: Regular physical activities, and better eating in conjunction with a better diet are steps that can be taken immediately to remedy the situation and put Americans on the path of recovery.

“Come on! It’s simple, just get up off your butt and stop eating so darn much,” a common phrase used when with addressing modern obesity. Yet, this fairly recent epidemic continues to plague and destroy around 93 million Americans (The Issue). Although, with Michael Obama’s “Let’s Move” Campaign making a head wave, the hope for a healthy tomorrow has been restored in the hearts of many Americans. Along those same lines it seems that these days you cannot turn on the TV or Radio without seeing an ad for this Gym or that weight lost supplement. Such items and services also suggest that we as individuals can exercise and never worry about the big, bad condition known as obesity. With all these resources,

According to Healthy People 2020 (HP 2020) (2014), nutrition, physical activity, and Obesity are one of the leading indicators ranking high-priority health issues. There are determinants that affect an individual’s to eat healthy, to be physically active, and maintain a healthy weight. The community setting has an essential effect on actions that impact health. For instance, there are communities that access to fresh fruits and vegetables is not available, and places for physical activities may not be available to motivate individuals to exercise or play. As well, gender, race, ethnicity, education level, and socioeconomic position determine the individual’s perception on healthy eating, physical activity, and obesity (HP 2020, 2014). Furthermore,

Greg Critser identifies the main barriers to physical activity in modern society. First of all, being active was viewed as a personal choice, not an obligatory part of daily life. In 1980, TV became the dominant mass medium which occupied a high proportion of American leisure time. According to Greg Critser, an average American watches about four hours of TV a day and during these hours there is no physical activity. Moreover, when people watch TV they usually eat something or take snacks with increased caloric intake. Numerous researches have shown that children who watched television during childhood had a higher risk of becoming obese. CDC also found that children who watched four or more hours of TV per day are more likely to have higher BMI and skinfold thickness than children who watch less television. There is a strong positive association between TV watching time and the risk of becoming overweight or obese. The more television people watch, the more likely they are to gain weight and become overweight or obese. Second of all, cuts in school funds influence physical education and PE classes. The amount of time and frequency children spent in PE class decrease tremendously. Along with this, the level of rigorous activity needed in order to surpass decrease dramatically. By the end of the 1980s, Illinois was the only state that required daily physical

The cultural values that go along with the culture are strongly reliant upon the family. The family is the center of Italian values, as it provides a stabilizing influence for all members throughout the family. This is

This project tries to understand if people today are really health conscious, whether they realize the importance of health eating and exercising. Also the project focuses on which physical activities do people prefer the most, if people have knowledge of “a balanced diet regime”, and what is their daily routine of physical activity.

Statistical information confirms: obesity and overweight have already turned into an issue of national concern. In 2002, “a National Survey conducted by American Sports Data revealed that 61% of adults in the U.S. felt that they were overweight, 19% admitting that they were ‘considerably’ overweight” (American Sports Data). The major causes of obesity, overweight, and similar nutritional problems included genetics, population trends, hurried lifestyles, high-carbohydrate diets, less demanding workplaces, smoking cessation, and social class aspects (American Sports Data). That hurried lifestyles and a less demanding workplace contribute in the development of obesity trends is clear. But even more importantly, because the number of those who are overweight or obese exceeds one half of the American population, the government must control our diets. The information about the costs of obesity and related diseases is even more compelling.

(2003), likewise point out that the fact of not being physically active plays a crucial in doubling cases of obesity. According to Hastings et al. (2003), people in 1st, 2nd and 3rd world countries are doing less physical activities such as riding bikes, working in the fields. Instead, people spend more time sitting in cars, in factories, in offices, in front of the TV, developing “Couch-potato” syndrome, only eating and drinking. In addition, the authors comment that wage-labor patterns are other contributing factors in culture-bound

For instance, areas with safety concerns can discourage physical activity while areas with good pedestal connection can encourage more walking and bicycling for transportation. In terms of choice of food, poor and minority communities may not have equal access to the variety of healthy food choices available when compared to wealthy communities. (K. Morland, S. Wing, A. Diez-Roux, C. Poole, 2002) The built environment consist of urban design factors, land use, and available public transportation for a region, as well as the available activity options for people within that space (S.L. Handy, M.G. Boarnet, R. Ewing, R.E. Killingsworth, 2002). Promoting physical activity is of public health importance because of its health benefits. According to Bize, Johnson, Plotnikoff (2007), physical inactivity is associated with increased risks of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases. However, interest to participate in

| The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in

With strong regional differences, the Italian culture values reciprocal relationships where obligations and responsibilities are equally shared. They also see that their relationship networks are key to achieving business goals.