The first episode in the series Designing Healthy communities investigates the connection between the cases of obesity and the Type 2 diabetes epidemic and the modern lifestyle characterized by high dependency on automobiles. The communities addressed in the episode are in the process of understanding how to combat diabetes by reducing the car-centric society. The episode captures the history of diabetes, noting that society today has suffered fatalities more than ever witnessed. Even at their young ages, children have portrayed the symptoms of type 2 diabetes that was initially present in adults only. The walkable lifestyle has been abandoned, and even children have been introduced to the lifestyle of depending on automobiles reducing the exercise done by walking.
Therefore, the information provided in the episode is related to the one provided in chapters two and three of Key Concepts in Public Health. The chapters address the determinants of modern health and quote the increasing comfortable lifestyle as the causes of the increased rate of diseases (Wilson & Mabhala, 2008). People today are accustomed to eating junk food, exercising less, and rather depending on automobiles. Nutrition and lifestyle play a bigger role in raising a sick generation. Modern society has raised a generation of children who are no longer conscious about a healthy lifestyle but would rather want to continue with their parents’ habits.
Therefore, the information presented in the episode is valid and easy to understand. The episode has deviated from focusing on the disease but rather looks at how people have contributed to the rising cases of epidemics such as type 2 diabetes. The urban lifestyle, which has also negatively influenced the environment, plays a greater role (Graham & White, 2016). The information is relatable to the real-life situation happening in American communities and hence proposes workable solutions towards such hazards.
Moreover, the episode quotes information from health records where symptoms of diseases such as type 2 diabetes are witnessed. The episode quotes that more than 72,000 amputations occur each year, more than 25 million Americans have diabetes, and recording cases amounting to 5 million people going blind due to diabetes. The episode then connects such findings to the lifestyle of individuals by accepting the factor that the similarity in such symptoms works to show that it is caused by similar circumstances such as less exercise and eating junk food. Even after daily engagements, most people do not take time to take an evening walk or even undertake communal activities to exercise (Wilson & Mabhala, 2008).
Therefore the episode narrows down to a single lesson; the nature of the modern community. According to Graham and White (2016), the community is careless and isolated. Individuals are no longer interested in conserving the environment. More industries are being set up with the acquisition of more automobiles, which leads to air pollution, interfering with its quality. Individuals no longer get out and interact with each other. People sit inside their houses throughout the day, interacting with their phones and playing computer games. Unfortunately, such things have negative consequences on their health. However, the episode misses information such as the role of government in health care. People are becoming increasingly sick because the cost of treatment in America is high than expected. Lack of affordable housing also drives people to live far away and be forced to depend on automobiles to save time.
In conclusion, Designing Healthy communities answer the question of what has gone wrong such that the modern community is sickly. The answer provided is that the community is reckless and isolated such that the concept of exercise and communal conservation of the environment is no longer in practice. If people don’t change their lifestyle by watching their diet and exercising regularly, then more diseases will have an advantage.
References
Graham, H., & White, P. C. L. (2016). Social determinants and lifestyles: integrating environmental and public health perspectives. Public health, 141, 270-278.
Wilson, F., & Mabhala, A. (Eds.). (2008). Key concepts in public health. Sage.
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