Sedentary Lifestyles

Why is the American Nation called “Couch Potatoes?” The United States is one of the largest overweight populations. We need to stop that! It’s important to improve our physical conditions for a better life. Changing some habits can also improve our physical, emotional, and financial health.

the way we are can be challenging and aging, even so much more. Taking care of the physical

Aging is natural. Every species ages on Earth. Humans seem to be one of the rare species on Earth that works so adamantly against aging, rather than

Several major physical and mental changes occur with aging. One physical change being in the cardiovascular system as heart rate decreases and arteries and blood vessels become firmer, causing the heart to have to work harder in order to pump blood to the rest of the body. These changes can cause several cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure. A second physical change being in the bones, joints, and muscles. With age, bone density and size decreases which makes them less durable, more susceptible to fracture or break, and may even decrease one’s height. Muscles also lose strength and flexibility with age, causing coordination and balance to be altered. A third physical change being in the digestive system as constipation is a common

America is one of the most obese countries in the world, with so many technologies

As the body ages and changes begin to occur, there is a stigma surrounding the aging body. When one typically thinks of an aging adult they may view the entire person as weak and deteriorating. Through my very little experience, while the aging body may not be what it once was, the mind and body can still be just as sharp, and in some cases, sharper than what is was years before.

How do we view aging? How does society view aging? What are common theories about aging? Societies view on aging may differ from culture to culture, in America most have a negative view on aging. Many theories have been proposed to explain the process of aging, but neither of them appears to be fully satisfactory. These theories are the aging by program theory, homeostatic imbalance theory, cross-linkage theory, autoimmunity theory, genetic theory of aging, centenarian’s theory, and other modifiers of aging. This paper will discuss some of these issues.

Physical and psychological changes occur over time and depending on our lifestyle, genetics, nutrition and environment, these factors will determine how we age and what our body will go through. As we age we start to see changes in our body that are not pleasant, nor can we change certain occurrences. For instance, our mental level decreases, as well as, strength, flexibility and balance and our mood and energy level diminishes, for these reasons the elder person is at high risk for falls and injury and also are prone to depression. Many elderly people lose their ability of living independently due to decreased mobility, frailty and other physical or cognitive health issues. Many will seek some sort of long-term care, such as, home and community care, assisted living, residential care and long stays in hospitals.

Not long ago finding that people in their nineties can build muscle made front page news. Why did the finding surprise us? It surprised us because it violates our concept of aging. "Gradual deterioration" sets up expectation of irreversible loss in muscle mass, bone density, lung capacity, balance, flexibility, etc. Obedient to the concept, we "act our age,"sitting sedentary, deteriorating according to plan. Inactivity precipitates decline in a vicious circle, but no matter how limiting and self-destructive, we conform and age to the letter. We succumb more to the concept than to age itself, even though all the while, the concept is mistaken.

According to a survey taken by the GAFF (Get America Fit Foundation), seventy-eight percent of Americans do not meet the criteria for daily physical activity. This is an increasing large issue in our country. Not only is it hurting our image as a nation, but it is literally causing us physical harm. There are many disadvantages to being inactive and unhealthy, a major downfall is certain cells in your body, called preadipocyte cells, are precursors to fat cells, and turn into fat cells much more quickly when you are sitting or lying down for extended amounts of time. Even worse, if your body is not used to working out and being active, these precursor cells turning into fat cells will be irreversible, and will cause cell damage (Hartel). Being lazy is okay only in moderation, as long as you eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, you are bound to live a long and healthy life.

As technology become more mainstream over the years, physical exercise among Australians has been decreasing sharply while sedentary behaviours has been rising to a new record where 70% of Australian adults are either sedentary or exercising at a very low level (AIHW, 2017). Prior to this unit of study, unfortunately, I was one of them. To make matters worse, since the commencement of University, my time being sedentary per day has been even higher than the average of 40-70% of the day due to heavy study loads as an Actuarial student, having an office part-time job, living on campus, and laziness.

Sexual abuse is observed in every country in different age groups of females ,have more risk of

Sometimes the fatigue from a long day’s work makes you want to relax like a potato, thus “couch potato”. Especially now that we live in a society where it requires a certain amount of effort and requires people to push themselves to the limit to live on a daily routine. I don’t really do much but I’m very lazy though.

During late adulthood one will experience dramatic loss and decline of physical abilities, strength, and energy as they near the end of their life cycle. “As we get older, we move slower, we become wrinkled, and we may feel the effects of various chronic conditions or disease. This process is known as senescence, the decline in body functioning associated with aging" (Papalia, Feldman, & Martorell, 2012, p. 501). Senescence then brings the idea of what is like to be old. Body systems start to decline in functioning ability under levels of stress, for "with age... many older people cannot respond to extra physical demands" (Papalia, Feldman, & Martorell, 2012, p. 506). Frailty and weakness in the bones and muscles then becomes a new factor

The first step in avoiding this type of disease is to first seek help in having a better lifestyle. Also energy in take and out take is important to know in order to keep a balance health. This means that the calories we consume have to be at a counterweight with the calories we burn. Exercise can be a big helper in burning calories. In other words, exercising can be like “fountain of youth” because it helps avoid diseases and makes your body feel great! If one does not contribute to regular exercise, at least doing chores around the house instead of staying in and watching TV the whole time can help. Walking the dog for 30 minutes at least, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, push a lawn mower instead of sit and mow, even washing dishes by hand instead of dishwasher can be examples of moving around a lot to avoid having a hypokinetic