Category: Social

Social health

Essential Insights into Health: Genetics, Lifestyle, and Equity

Health
A woman playing a game

What is Health?

Health is a holistic concept that extends beyond just the absence of illness. It is a positive state that encompasses physical, mental, and social well-being. True health involves the balanced functioning of the body, maintaining energy and strength. Mentally, it signifies emotional stability, resilience, and cognitive health. Socially, it implies meaningful interactions and supportive relationships. Holistic health recognizes that these elements are interconnected, emphasizing that genuine well-being requires nurturing each aspect for a fulfilled life.

Health Influences: The Multi-Faceted Web of Well-Being

Health is a complex interplay of factors, each contributing uniquely to an individual’s state of wellness. Understanding these influences—ranging from genetics to environmental conditions—highlights how comprehensive well-being is cultivated.

Genetics forms the bedrock of health, determining susceptibility to diseases and influencing traits like metabolism, immune response, and mental health conditions. While genetic predispositions cannot be changed, awareness of them empowers proactive choices, enabling individuals to mitigate risks through informed decisions and lifestyle adaptations.

Lifestyle choices stand as one of the most controllable health influencers. Nutrition, physical activity, sleep quality, and habits like tobacco and alcohol use shape physical and mental health. Balanced diets rich in essential nutrients support immune function and energy, while regular exercise bolsters cardiovascular health, muscle strength, and mental well-being. Conversely, negative habits contribute to chronic illnesses, highlighting that informed lifestyle choices are pivotal to optimizing health.

Access to healthcare determines the ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat health conditions effectively. Populations with limited access face delays in treatment and higher rates of preventable illnesses. Comprehensive healthcare access enables early detection of conditions, management of chronic diseases, and enhanced outcomes, creating a stark difference in life expectancy and quality between those with and without such resources.

Economic conditions further impact health in multiple ways. Financial stability allows access to nutritious food, safe living conditions, and quality healthcare. On the other hand, economic insecurity often forces individuals into choices that may compromise health, such as poor nutrition due to affordability or working in hazardous conditions due to financial necessity. Economic disparities contribute to health inequities across populations, underscoring that wealth is often linked to well-being.

Environmental factors are also influential. Clean air, safe water, and exposure to green spaces positively impact health, while polluted environments contribute to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and other chronic conditions. Climate change adds another layer of complexity, as rising temperatures and extreme weather events stress healthcare systems and expose vulnerable populations to increased health risks.

In conclusion, health is not just a product of individual choices but a mosaic formed by genetics, lifestyle, healthcare access, social support, economic stability, and environmental quality. Holistic approaches that address these interconnected factors can enhance individual and public health, paving the way for communities to thrive. Understanding this complexity emphasizes the collective responsibility society holds to create environments where healthy living is accessible and sustainable for all.

Health as the highest attainable standard is considered a fundamental human right, essential for leading a fulfilling life. It embodies more than just freedom from illness; it means enjoying complete physical, mental, and social well-being. This right emphasizes equality, ensuring that health can be pursued without distinction of race, religion, political beliefs, or economic and social conditions. True health enables individuals to live with dignity, partake in society fully, and pursue opportunities. It’s a reflection of justice and equity, transcending social and economic divides to promote universal welfare.

Indicators of good health include:

  • Clear, Bright Skin and Eyes: Reflects hydration, nutrition, and proper organ function.
  • Strong Teeth, Gums, Nails, and Hair: Shows nutrient intake and overall body health.
  • Fresh Breath: Indicates good oral and digestive health.
  • Healthy Digestion: Supports nutrient absorption.
  • Optimal Energy Levels: Sign of balanced diet and metabolism.
  • Regular Bowel Movements and Clear Urination: Reflect proper digestion and hydration.
  • Flexible Joints and Muscles: Suggests physical fitness and good circulation.
  • Efficient Circulation and Body Temperature: Vital for organ function.
  • Normal Satiety and Fat Levels: Indicates balanced nutrition.
  • Strong Immunity, Memory, and Emotional Stability: Show general well-being and mental health.

Warning Signs of Smartphone Addiction in Kids! 10 Effective Tips

Smartphone Addiction
Child with Smartphone

Smartphone Addiction

Smartphones have become essential tools in daily life, enabling instant communication, entertainment, and productivity. They help people stay connected through calls, messaging, and social media. They provide access to emails, virtual meetings, and online learning for work and education. Additionally, smartphones offer navigation, health tracking, and smart home control, making everyday tasks more convenient.

While smartphones bring many benefits, excessive use can lead to addiction and negative impacts. Overuse may disrupt sleep, reduce face-to-face interactions, and cause anxiety or stress when separated from the device. The constant need to check notifications or social media can interfere with daily responsibilities and overall well-being, making it crucial to find a healthy balance. Excessive smartphone usage among children is a growing concern due to its impact on their physical, mental, and social well-being.

Your child is smartphone addicted?

There isn’t a strict threshold for the amount of time that definitively indicates a child is “addicted” to mobile devices, as it depends on the context and impact on their daily life. However, here are some general guidelines to help determine whether mobile use may be excessive and potentially addictive.

1. Recommended Screen Time Guidelines

  • For children under 2 years old: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no screen time, except for video chatting with family.
  • For children aged 2 to 5: The AAP advises no more than one hour per day of high-quality screen time.
  • For children aged 6 and older: The AAP suggests setting consistent limits to ensure screen time does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, and other healthy behaviors. Typically, this could mean no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time per day, although this may vary.

2. When Screen Time Becomes a Concern

  • If a child is consistently using a mobile device for more than 3 to 4 hours daily for recreational purposes, it could be considered excessive.
  • Screen time that interferes with daily activities, such as school, physical play, social interactions, sleep, or family time, is more concerning than the exact number of hours.
  • Spending more than 5 to 6 hours per day on mobile devices (outside of educational purposes) often suggests a dependency that could be classified as problematic.

3. Behavioral Signs Beyond Time Spent

  • It’s not just the quantity of screen time that matters but also the quality and context. If the child:
  • Becomes irritable or anxious when not allowed to use the device.
  • Prioritizes screen time over other important activities.
  • Uses the device as the primary way to cope with emotions (e.g., boredom, sadness, or stress).
  • Struggles to reduce screen time, even after expressing a desire to do so.

4. Age Matters

  • Younger children (e.g., under 6) are more vulnerable to the negative effects of excessive screen time because of their developing brains and the need for physical play and social interaction.
  • Older children and teens may be able to tolerate a bit more screen time, especially if it’s used for educational purposes, but they still need a healthy balance of offline activities.

Impact on Child’s Daily Life

The severity of smartphone addiction in children can manifest in various ways, impacting their physical, mental, and social well-being. Here are some key areas where severity is observed.

1. Physical Health Issues

  • Sleep Disruption: Excessive smartphone use, especially before bed, can lead to poor sleep quality and fatigue.
  • Eye Strain and Headaches: Prolonged screen time can cause digital eye strain, headaches, and even blurred vision.
  • Sedentary Lifestyle: Spending too much time on devices reduces physical activity, potentially leading to weight gain and related health issues.

2. Emotional and Mental Health Impact

  • Anxiety and Depression: Constant exposure to social media and online content can lead to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and social anxiety.
  • Increased Irritability: Children may show mood swings or become irritable when their smartphone use is restricted.
  • Attention Problems: Overuse can impair concentration and focus, negatively affecting school performance.

3. Behavioral Changes

  • Aggression or Defiance: When limits are set on smartphone use, children may react with anger or aggressive behaviour.
  • Dependency on Devices: The child may use the smartphone as a primary way to cope with boredom, loneliness, or stress, leading to reliance on digital interactions over real-life experiences.

4. Social Impact

  • Reduced Social Interaction: Children may withdraw from face-to-face communication, preferring online interactions instead.
  • Impact on Family Relationships: Excessive smartphone use can create conflicts at home, disrupting family bonding and communication.

5. Academic Decline

  • Poor Performance: Smartphone addiction can interfere with study time, leading to lower grades and reduced interest in academic activities.
  • Lack of Motivation: Children may lose interest in extracurricular activities or hobbies, opting for screen time instead.

The severity of these issues can vary depending on the extent of smartphone use, the child’s age, and individual susceptibility. Early intervention and setting healthy screen time limits are crucial to prevent long-term consequences.

Smartphone Addiction: A Parent’s Guide

1. Set Boundaries and Enforce Limits

  • Define daily limits for smartphone use based on age and your family’s values. For instance, younger children might have a strict one-hour cap, while older kids may have more flexibility but with designated breaks.
  • Create tech-free times and zones, like during meals, homework, and one hour before bedtime, to foster family connection and reduce dependency.

2. Be a Role Model

  • Children learn by observing, so model balanced smartphone use yourself. Avoid excessive scrolling, especially during family time, and demonstrate prioritizing face-to-face interactions.

3. Introduce Alternative Activities

  • Engage them in hobbies and physical activities such as sports, music, art, or reading, which naturally limit screen time and promote well-rounded interests.
  • Schedule family activities, like hiking, game nights, or creative projects, to show the joy of being active and present.

4. Educate About Smartphone Effects

  • Discuss the effects of overuse: Explain how excessive screen time can lead to poor sleep, trouble focusing, mood issues, and social isolation. Teaching kids the “why” helps them see the importance of moderation.
  • Talk about digital well-being as part of personal health, emphasizing that screens should enhance rather than replace real-life experiences.

5. Set Up and Use Parental Controls Thoughtfully

  • Use parental control settings to monitor and limit app usage and prevent access to harmful content.
  • Explain to your child that parental controls are about safety and balance, not about restricting freedom. Collaborate on healthy rules as they mature.

6. Promote Real-Life Social Interaction

  • Encourage in-person playdates and family gatherings where they can interact without screens. Help your child develop social skills and enjoy face-to-face communication.
  • Suggest group activities, like team sports or clubs, which foster real connections and reduce screen dependency.

7. Reward Good Digital Habits

  • Acknowledge and reward progress when your child follows screen-time rules. Small incentives can reinforce positive changes and make them feel accomplished.
  • Use screen time as a privilege earned by fulfilling other responsibilities, like chores, homework, or physical activity.

8. Talk Openly About Online Safety and Content

  • Make sure they understand the importance of protecting personal information online and how to respond if they see something upsetting.
  • Establish that you are a safe person to come to if they experience anything uncomfortable online, such as cyberbullying or inappropriate content.

9. Encourage Self-Regulation Over Time

  • As your child grows, work on developing their self-discipline around screen use. Discuss their own goals for screen time and help them monitor usage with screen-time tracking apps.
  • Encourage breaks, self-checks, and alternate ways to cope with boredom or stress without always reaching for a device.

10. Practice Patience and Flexibility

  • Changing habits can take time, so stay patient and consistent with your guidelines. Be willing to adjust screen rules as your child demonstrates responsibility.

Combating smartphone addiction isn’t about strict control but about teaching balance, responsibility, and self-regulation. With a mix of guidance, open communication, and positive examples, children can develop a healthy relationship with their digital devices.

I, Family, Society and Corona

Corona
Social Distance ?

You are fearful about something ? or must take care from something that alerts you more frequently. Overconfidence or negligence costs more. Precise understanding of surrounding or various media words, a summary of your body nature and its immunity give you relief and early recovery in the light of the Corona pandemic. Nations went through these phases and predicting new waves.

At this juncture, we are a mix of three kinds of people, one affected with Corona, affected indirectly and not affected. Again who recovered from the Corona can be grouped in three ways.

  1. From Home Quarantine
  2. General treatment at Hospital
  3. Hospitalized with serious conditions 

Few lost their lives in all the three cases, many reasons to say. Precautions may not guarantee complete protection from Corona, but they are must practice.

One observation on homeless or street beggars they are not having minimum safety measures, not wearing mask, no hand sanitization nor healthy food, less affected with Corona reasons might be their body and mental capabilities gained from their circumstances.

Doctors do not have the specific medicine to cure Corona, few spent much for treatment to get cure critical health issues results of Covid-19. It got cured even before the people realized in few cases. 

Diseases too exhibit discrimination other than caste, creed or religion, but in terms of your body nature, immunity and mental strength are the factors to attack you.

Personal experience – Corona

My family members got Corona beginning of the month -May 21 and I too experienced Corona in the same period. In this case would like to share my experiences, impact on the body and its precautions to be taken to get cured.

In addition to this, I made phone calls to other corona patients, in friends and other people in my network to understand more about their issues with Covid-19 and aware them necessary actions without anxiety.

  • Many feel that everyone will have similar kinds of symptoms when they have infected with Corona virus. We are four with different ages,  40-, 30+ with pregnancy, 60+ and 75. One quick observation was women got recovered quickly.
  • Can say common symptoms fever and dry cough. Muscle or body aches, headaches and others are not common with similar severity that depends on your body nature and immune system.
  • Who took safe care at home when they realize their body symptoms because of Corona without anxiety had recovered  quickly. Some existing diseases in the body hand shook with Covid-19 had degraded the patient’s health conditions to next level.
  • Few not alerted with Corona, continuously with negligence before and with Corona have experienced critical conditions and recovered after hospitalization. Few with the overconfidence of their internal strength and aggressiveness met with the final breath. Must have care and precautions in all the cases.
  • We all cured at home with safety measures and taken necessary medicine on time. Some moment my father’s (75 years) pulse rate went down to 83, he had experienced a severe breathing problem. We have taken guidance from the homoeopathic doctor to increase pulse rate and solve breathing issues. Homoeo medicines helped lot and my father got recovered with in hours from breathing problem and Oxygen levels increased to 90+.
  • Some people are reluctant or shy to say their actual issues when they infected with Corona, hiding health issues and not revealing to family members or right one, did not get proper medication when they were at home quarantine.
  • Loneliness is more likely to kill people minds when they are in trouble. Words with others virtually may divert mental state also chance of getting suggestions and mental relief. Do not engage with people with a negative mindset or overconfident.

WHO

  • Self-motivation, your boldness will not disturb you from fake news. Patients should have to take protein food like dry fruits, meat and eggs. Taking proper rest will boost your body immunity and also reduces oxygen demand.
  • Your fear or anxiety demands more oxygen when the body will not produce more pulse rate. A mix of your mindset, positivity, proper rest and general medication helps to stabilize your body state.
  • Light breathing exercises and steam therapy will help lungs activity but one or two times recommended in a day. Morning simple walk under sun light activates your body helps to produce D vitamin.
  • There are chances of acidic issues while consuming medicines for some time or with C vitamin tabs. A natural remedy to acidic issue is to drink lemon tea regularly with a ginger mix.
  • The regular and most important practice is drinking a good amount of water. When infected with Corona your body dehydrates very frequently to ensure that you are consuming enough water. Having semi hot water helps more to remove toxins from the body while sweating. This practice also helps to gain the state of the body before Corona.

who2

Those who are recovered from corona facing one or more health issues like weakness, not able to walk some distance, breathing issues, few people attached with diabetic problems and more. It takes few weeks to month to gain previous health state. Apart from health conditions, Corona brought financial issues, bad family conditions and few left with emotions.

Vaccination gives you one level of protection, body nature, precautions and necessity are the other crucial factors to face any disease. Make a habit of regular physical exercise, yoga and eating hygienic food to maintain body fitness and immunity levels help you to recover easily if any disease attacks.`

Find the root cause for your overweight!

Overweight
Overweight

Overweight and Obesity what is the difference? The WHO had given a definition based on Body to Mass Index (BMI), it is an index of weight-for-height.

BMI = Weight in Kilogram (kg)/ Height in square meters (m2)

  • If BMI is greater than or equal to 25 treated as overweight.
  • or BMI is greater than or equal to 30 treated as obesity.

Overweight and Obesity kills more people than under weight.

  • Worldwide around 2 Billion or 40% of the adult population considered as overweight in 2016.
  • America, China and India have occupied the first three places in the obese country list.

Harvard Medical studies and other research says that Your weight depends on the calories consumed for body function, excess calories stored in the body and how many you burn up. All these results of environment and genes. Both can affect how fast you burn calories and your lifestyle.

Factors which contributes to individual overweight or obesity:

  • The Calorie lines
  • Your Genetics
  • Environment
  • Food Habits
  • Body Exercise
  • Sedentary snacking
  • Stress and Sleep

The Calorie lines – Overweight

The storage and burning of calories in the body depend on your genetics, degree of physical activity and calories consumed while you take rest. If you are able to burn or consume all the calories in your body then your weight will be under control. Intake foods having more calories than your body demands, then you gain weight.

The excess calories are stored in the body in the form of fat. There are specialized cells in the body to store fat. The fat storage will be by enlarging the fat cells are generating new fat cells. You can burn these fat cells by reducing your food intake or by increasing calories demand with body exercises or workouts

Your Genetics

Today about 400 different genetics plays a role in overweight or obesity and few of them play a major role. And their influence can vary from person to person, few may affect only 25% and few many impacted 70% to 80%. Genes define your sense of fullness, food carving, metabolism body and fat distribution, and the tendency to use eating as a way to deal with stress.

Check your gene characteristics

Due to genes, you may have struck with overweight in most of your life, your parents or many relatives are overweight your likelihood of a falling under the same circle as high as 80%. Good physical activity also will not help you to reduce your overweight with gene influence.

You are moderately overweight, follow a diet plan and a workout program you can reduce your weight. You may gain your lost weight in holidays, change in your eating habits, physical activity or when you affected with psychological or social problem.

These suggest that you are heavily predisposed by the genes and not losing your weight with minimal efforts are not great news, your gen disposition is modest concerning obese and your weight is normal then your tendency to increase your weight even you consume much calories food and do exercise rarely.

This indicates that only moderately gene disposition people can have chances to lose their weight and maintain less weight.

Thrifty genes

When crops fail in our olden days our ancestors survive with stored fat in the body during the lean time and those who could not perish. This is the reason why today 85% of us carrying thrifty genes. In the present world, these thrifty genes are a curse rather than blessed. We have readily available food around the clock.

In case of highly gene disposition people able to lose weight that can be maintained for less time, they can only able to maintain normal weight under doctor guidance or with drugs or with surgery.

The obese population has been increasing in the United States since the 1970s, genes alone not responsible for this rise. The rise of the body mass index is not limited to certain geo zones across the world.

Environment and your overweight

Genes are internal to your body to help your weight and stay overweight; the environment is outside your body contributes to your body weight. Anything which makes us eat more and do a very little exercise.

Babies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to become overweight than non-smoked pregnant mothers. The same is thru with the babies born to diabetic mothers. These conditions may affect the metabolism in the babies.

Childhood habits have many roles in the rest of our lives. Kids who attracted the taste of the soft drinks, eating high calorie processed foods and frequently consuming them which promotes overweight.

Babies who are not breastfed for more than three months are less likely to have obesity as adolescents.

Children who watch television and play video games instead of playing physical games may victim of sedentary future.

High Calories
High Calories

Food habits

As mentioned extra calories in your body will enlarge fat cells or creates new fat cells in the body. Indian an average person required 2100 to 2400 calories based on living area. The average man adding extra calories to his daily fare than enough, its due to increase food availability, bigger portions and more high-calorie foods.

Food is readily available in all shopping malls, cinema theatres and stadiums. You can buy snacks or meals on street hackers. The overall percentage of spending on food is increasing in many countries. In 1970, America spent 27% on food, by 2006 that percentage increased to 46%.

Always people interested to buy and whatever in front of them. Now fast-food restaurants increased meal size and the same trend is passed to other snacks. The French fries served at McDonald’s contains 3 times more calories than when it started. A single super-sized meal contains 1500-2000 calories along with these soft drinks and salty snacks add more calories.

The fat content in the diet is gone reduced; much low-fat food contains a high portion of carbohydrates which have a large amount of sugar that improve the taste.

Body Exercises

In regards to present food habits, everyone needs to do exercise for 45 min to one hour moderate to rigorous in a day. But very few involved in this activity. only 25% of Americans do exercise and 64% of Indians replied that they do not do exercise in a study.

There are many factors keeping people away from doing exercises type of work culture, office timings and transportation, other responsibilities, nature of the person and situations

Sedentary snacking

If you are watching more hours of television, research says that this habit linked to overweight or obesity. Watching TV more than two hours a day also a risk of overweight in children, even it results in 3 years kids.

Watching TV burns slightly more calories than sleeping. Part of this time can spend on exercise to burn calories. Food advertisements also on TV shows encourage to eat more.

Eating while watching TV stimulates people to eat more calories. Children ate more snacks while watching TV than when doing other activity.

Stress and Sleep

Many parents both working and spending long working hours unable to spend time with children. At the same time due to social issues like violence on children and abduction making stress in parents not to send their children to public parks for bike riding.

This kind of situations makes children stick to TV sets and video games. Which mean parents have less time for family obligations, due to time pressure, often lead people to eat on the run and less sleep both can contribute to weight gain.

Lack of sleep affects the release of the hormones that control hunger and appetite could cause obesity. Stress and lack of sleep are closely connected to psychological health, which can also affect diet and appetite. Some people will eat more when they are depression or anxiety that leads to weight gain or obesity.

Work From Home always at Ease?

Covid-19, Work from home
Covid-19, Work from home

Covid-19 & Work from home facility

Most of the service oriented companies are providing Work From Home facility to their employees for last 3 to 4 months and some of the companies have been providing this kind of facility in the past irrespective of Corona pandemic. This kind of WFH (Working From Home) facility many employees expecting since long time, due to COVID-19 and its sequences now its worn reality in advance.

Few companies declared that they are going to continue WFH facility to their employees in future as well, WFH is not the new work culture in the corporate sector and its not limited to few employees. It benefits both employee and employer, employee no need to travel to office and can save time & money by avoiding travel and can away from pollution etc. In employer aspect they can enjoy more productivity and less maintenance costs leads to profits.

Also there are few negative sides as well,

  • Some employees may have to work more working hours than at office.
  • There will be no significant physical distance between home and office this leads to no complete detachment for both the environments (office or work).
  • There is no direct interaction with colleagues, only mobile communication is an option, or with any other technical options w.r.t off site.
  • Most of the employees not having same kind of office environment at their homes in terms of furniture, uninterrupted power supply , AC and etc.
  • Employer may get queries on loyalty of the employee if things are not in streamline.

Working for more hours and there is no detachment to office,  employee may undergo more stress  physically and mentally,  these leads to health issues. Sometimes over working hours is not avoidable and if its frequent situation employee should be in the position to distinguish work and home and act consciously as per importance of work, home, personal & family. In long run employee may get irritated on work  and not interesting on things to be done, that may affects productivity. Once feeling lost, it will not come back in original perception. These all not only in case of WHF, can be applicable all the cases.

Lets follow below few tips for good work & health!

  1. Make ensure that we have comfortable seating arrangement either for laptop or desktop? If not having such a facility, give foremost importance and invest for that facility. If we are not having proper working zone we get strained early and that may cause back pain and other health issues. Also ensure that proper air and ventilation at home work place. You may comfortable on working on bed, but in long hours you experiences certain pains, better avoid this habit.
  2. There will be a psychological feeling as we are at home, no hurry for having food or short breaks. Even we are at home try to manage to finish lunch on time. Do not hurry to work after finish your lunch, get relax for 10 to 15 mins. Ensure that daily we are consuming quality and quantity of water. Also take short breaks based on working hours.
  3. Do not sit continuously for long hours while working, do some stretches while sitting on chair or by standing. do a walk few meters for every hour or two hours interval. Proper sitting posture is much important to avoid back pain and also blink your eyes frequently.
  4. Possible fix your log-on and log-off timings. Do not hurry for early log in than specified time unless its something urgent, make hobby of log in and log out in fixed timings. Once you log off from work, turn off your mind also from work, otherwise we will not feel home climate, in long run we may experiences other issues.
  5. Do body workouts regularly, do not neglect precaution towards Corona including all family members. Add some breathing exercises in daily workouts. At the end health and family is more important.