Introduction
Body fitness involves the wholesome health fitness of a person, which is conventionally portrayed by one’s physical appearance. A global health study in the United States of America exemplifies fitness by critically detailing the factors associated with the health fitness of a different population in different countries, both developing and developed countries across the world. The main weakness of the article is that it tackles a few factors that determine health fitness; however, its strengths lie in the critical information it offers on understanding the current literature, updates, and information concerning health fitness.
Analysis
Poverty
According to the article, poverty-stricken populations experience extremely poor health fitness especially in the developing countries where many populations live below the poverty line. Poverty leads to poor nutrition, lack of access to clean drinking water, and generally poor living conditions in which most of the basic needs go unmet over a long period (Arbatov, 2007, p. 65). Poverty, therefore, positively correlates to ill health, frequent occurrence of diseases, and low life expectancy as prolonged illness can cut one’s life short.
Educational attainment
Education determines good health largely as it gives the limelight on matters of nutrition, hygiene, and physical exercise as indispensable ingredients of quality health. According to the article, in countries, especially in the developed countries where basic education is mandatory, populations experience quality health and prolonged life expectancy simply because educational attainment has improved health knowledge and thus people’s health is improved.
Population growth
High population increase, especially in the developing countries, increases chances of poor health and, therefore, results in poor health fitness. In a high population, there is overcrowding and overstretching of health facilities, and this leads to poor provision of health services, which consequently results in poor health fitness as only a few, who can afford expensive health services elsewhere, will live healthily (Cohen, 2008, p. 89). Population growth in urban slums, which are mostly inhabited by low-class people with poor living conditions, results in poor health fitness courtesy of the poor living conditions. Moreover, increased population growth leads to the development of new challenges such as inadequacy of the healthcare workforce as the people seeking health services keep on increasing with an increase in population (Ksiazek, 2003, p.97). This inadequacy causes delayed health service provision leading to prolonged illnesses hence poor health fitness among many people in a population.
Spread of western lifestyles
The encroachment of western lifestyle to developing countries has led to the emergence of diseases once known and experienced in high-income countries. For instance, conditions such as obesity were only known to occur in western countries as people can afford the necessary diets and nutrients while, on the other hand, doing little or no physical exercise (Cao, et al., 2009, p.257).
Environmental and climatic changes
Adverse environmental and climatic changes in some countries pose a health threat as societies are affected both economically and socially. High temperatures favor the development of habitats for many diseases vectors like mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, and thus affect the health fitness of those living in such areas (Narayan, 2010, p. 198). Floods, on the other hand, pose a health problem as such conditions can cause the rapid spread of deadly diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
Conclusion
The article on global health highlights the crucial factors affecting health fitness; it outlines them with clarity. These factors continue to be a powerful determinant of health and disease to many nations across the continents as they have their impacts on societies. However, the article failed to exploit the many available factors that affect health fitness, which underscores the article’s greatest weakness.
Reference List
Arbatov, A. (2007). Human Population Grows Up. Scientific America, 5(2), 64-65.
Cao, B., et al. (2009). Clinical Features of the Initial Cases of 2009 Pandemic
Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection in China. The New England Journal of Medicine, 9(6), 257–258.
Cohen, J. (2008). Make Secondary Education Universal Nature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ksiazek, T. (2003). A Novel Coronavirus Associated With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Manchester, Manchester University Press.
Narayan, K. M. (2010). Global Non-Communicable Diseases–Where Worlds Meet. The New England Journal of Medicine, 11(7), 196–198.