Introduction
The presence of a healthy population is the greatest wealth a nation can possess for the sustainable productivity and the resourcefulness of people in all the fields of socio-economic excellence. Presently, the standard of lifestyle of the American population is much higher than that of most other countries of the world. However, the quality of physical and mental health of the population is drawing substantial attention for the increasing number of health issues caused by various problems. The government of the country as well as various healthcare organizations are proposing and executing plans for the eradication of severe issues that damage the individual health of the people. The improvement of the health standard of the American population can be achieved to a great extent if the common issues like obesity and alcoholism are identified and addressed carefully with remedial measures. This paper aims at evaluating the major health problems among the common population and suggesting policies to improve the quality of the country’s public health.
Even though the country possesses a higher average of educational and economic standard, the average population seemingly abstains from personal health care practices. This tendency of the people results in careless approach towards health standards and choice of lifestyle patterns, which in turn piles up the issue of poor public health index of the country. In order to analyze the scenario and find possible suggestions for improvement, the following issues are evaluated in detail.
Overweight and Obesity
One of the most alarming health issues of the American population derives from overweight and obesity. Owing to the economic stability and increasing consumerism experienced in the recent decades, the country’s population, young and adults equally are prone to contract the problem of obesity. Irregular and excessive food consumption is the most important cause of obesity. According to an observation, “a person’s weight increases if she consumes more calories than she expends (Courtemanche, 2008, p.2). Reasons for the problem of obesity and overweight are multi-dimensional. Economic and cultural aspects of the society play a vital role in the increasing trend of this health hazard besides identified cases of genetic and medical reasons for overweight. Certain statistical data about the obesity rates, as reported by Hellmich (October 18, 2013), shows that around 35 per cent of the people of America were obese in 2012 without much improvement in the health standard of the people with respect to this issue from the year 2010 which averaged 36 percent. With the improvement of financial fitness and a corresponding cultural aspect of dining out are the major reasons to be identified with it. Even though obesity is an individual problem in a literary sense, the impact of this issue is highly adverse as it drives the young generation inactive and lead to premature deaths.
How to Deal with Overweight?
Various measures are taken by the healthcare departments to acknowledge the bad effect of overweight and related issues. The most essential practice to be implemented for the elimination of the problem of obesity is training regulated diet habits and cutting down the practice of eating out. According to Dawes (2014), “teaching children about healthy eating choices and encouraging physical activity is a worthy mission.” (p. 17). Another way to handle the problem of obesity is, of course, medical treatment. If the problem is identified early, the patients can be given medical care and put to different therapies for their improvement. Beyond all these aspects, the best possible recommendation is to inculcate the habit of doing regular physical exercise.
Alcoholism
Another threat to the general health of the American population is the uncontrollable problem of alcoholism. The evil habit of abuse of alcohol costs a large number of people their life by promoting social issues such as family disorientation and poor family models. The habit of consumption of alcohol could be traced back to time unknown, but the evil spell cast by spirit on the society is dreadful for various reasons. Alcoholism is not a simple individual issue; it has deep impact on the society and the nation. Drinking habit of an individual not only ruins his health but the peace and prosperity of his family and the society in general. Therefore, the normative nature of the societies to adopt a drinking habit is subject to its feasibility in the system with regards to religion, tribe and cultural orientation. Whatever may be the consent factor, alcoholism and related issues cause severe economic damage to the United States every year due to declined productivity at the employment sector and increasing cost of medical treatment of the patients. Some studies like that of Reinberg (2007) reveal the alarming fact that a third of the American population is suppressed by the influence of alcohol related issues in which around 18 per cent suffer from alcohol abuse problem while nearly 13 per cent are alcohol dependents. This statistics exhibits the fearful facet of the public health of America, which may also create ethical issues like constituting violence and nuisance besides a range of criminal violations of the law which are indirectly inspired by alcohol.
Measures to Resolve the Issue of Alcoholism
The issue of alcoholism is a social barrier before the government in the smooth functioning of law enforcement and improved healthcare conditions in the country. It must be remembered that the deep-rooted social evil of abuse of alcohol should be handled collectively by the inclusive approach of politicians, celebrities and prominent organizations along with the measures taken by the government. For a good model of open criticism against this issue, Texas Governor Rick Perry compared alcoholism to homosexuality in a humiliating manner. Besides scores of individual attempts to voice against the alcoholism menace, there can be recommendations for taking assistance from organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that work for the improvement of individuals with alcohol related problems. In the process of driving away the problem of increasing alcoholism among the Americans, government departments and social organizations can play a great role by using awareness campaigns and personalized teachings for the target group with the help of social media also.
Conclusion
It is a fact that the present American population is subject to vulnerable issues like obesity and alcoholism deserves great attention in the social academics. Scholars and healthcare experts have identified multiple causes and acknowledged the bad impacts of these issues for the attention of individuals and the authorities. However, the appetite of the people for new tastes and new heights of ecstasy keeps them active eaters and drinkers despite multiple warnings. As a ray of hope, collective enthusiasm of individuals and authorities can be expected to bring positive effect in bringing down the cases related to obesity and alcoholism and make a healthy America in the future.
References
Courtemanche, C. J. (2008). Essays on the Economic Causes of Obesity. ProQuest.
Dawes, L. (2014). Childhood Obesity in America. US: Harvard University Press.
Hellmich, N. (October 18, 2013). “U.S. obesity rate levels off, but still an epidemic”. USA Today.
Reinberg, S. (July 2, 2007). “Third of Americans Have Alcohol Problems at Some Point”. The Washington Post.
