Raschel Larsen - Health and Fitness for Life

Raschel Larsen

Health and Fitness for Life

2022 by Raschel Larsen

ISBN-13: 978-1-955499-00-2

All rights reserved. Edition 2.0 2022. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Chemeketa Press

Chemeketa Community College

4000 Lancaster Dr NE

Salem, Oregon 97305

chemeketapress.org

Cover design by Ronald Cox

Interior design by Ronald Cox

References to website URLs were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Chemeketa Press is responsible for URLs that have changed or expired since the manuscript was prepared.

Printed in the United States of America.

Land Acknowledgment

Chemeketa Press is located on the land of the Kalapuya, who today are represented by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, whose relationship with this land continues to this day. We offer gratitude for the land itself, for those who have stewarded it for generations, and for the opportunity to study, learn, work, and be in community on this land. We acknowledge that our Colleges history, like many others, is fundamentally tied to the first colonial developments in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Finally, we respectfully acknowledge and honor past, present, and future Indigenous students of Chemeketa Community College.

This textbook does not provide medical advice.

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained in this textbook is for informational purposes only. This material is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this textbook.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

1. Describe the dimensions of wellness.
2. Identify the major health problems in the United States today and discuss their causes.
3. Describe the behaviors that are part of a fit and well lifestyle.
4. Identify the factors that influence your wellness behaviors.
5. Develop a personalized plan for successful behavior change, including appropriate goals and strategies for overcoming behaviors.

Key Terms

• chronic disease
• decisional balance
• dimensions of wellness
• locus of control
• growth mindset theory
• health
• health disparity
• healthy life expectancy
• Healthy People 2030
• infectious disease
• locus of control
• life expectancy
• morbidity rate
• mortality rate
• public health
• self-efficacy
• SMART goal setting
• social determinants of health
• social support
• Stages of Change model
• wellness

Chuck eats fast food from the comfort of his couch each day. He rationalizes his lifestyle by saying life is short and you have to live life to the fullest. Chuck may be enjoying those onion rings and his couch right now, but what about a year from now, or 10? When friends ask him to hike up to the top of Multnomah Falls to see the view, will he go? Could he even make it to the top?

Your health doesnt just happen overnight. Like Chuck, the little choices you make each day add up over the course of your lifetimegood or bad. They can make the difference not only in how long you live but also in what you are able to do with that time. Imagine if Chuck, instead of sitting on his couch, had made a series of healthy choices, even small choices, over the course of a year. Instead of munching on onion rings, he might be hiking with his friends or getting a promotion due to his efforts at work. There are short- and long-term payoffs when we make decisions that impact our health and wellness.

This chapter will define and explain health and wellness, show why wellness is so important, and describe a basic goal-setting method for improving individual behaviors associated with wellness. The more we take charge of our health and wellness, the happier and healthier we are as a society. As a whole, our goal should be to spend less of our energy on treating illnesses and more on preventing them by making healthier choices. This book will encourage you to be healthy yourself and to focus on your personal wellness.

The terms health and wellness are often used interchangeably. While one refers to the general condition of our bodies and minds, the other can be considered a deliberate effort to actually be healthy. Health is a persons physical and mental state. Wellness is a set of multidimensional factors of an individuals health that can be improved through changes in behavior. Public health refers to the health condition in a group of people and is linked to life expectancy, disease, and general wellness.

These three key terms are interconnected. To improve public health, individuals must make choices that improve their own health and wellness. But its not just about individual choice. Public health systems need to be in place to assess a populations health and to create science-based strategies for improved health. Public health services need to be accessible to everyone in the community in order to support and promote health and wellness.