Is heart disease common in your family? What are some of the environmental, physical, cultural, socio economical, and educational factors that impact the prevalence of this disease?
It was back in the year 1998; I sat on the foot side of my grandmother’s bed and had “the conversation” with her. It was a cold February winter where she laid tucked in inside of her warm cozy blanket and I sat next to the fire place by her bed and listened to her living styles in the past as though it were a fairy tale. She told how she walked for days just to reach the other part of the town, or to reach the city since there weren’t any vehicles or any means of gas emitting vehicles. Her diet would generally be fresh vegetables with only a day/two per week intake of meat. The people back then hardly got sick you know, she exclaimed. “And since we don’t get sick too often, there wouldn’t be a chance of us taking medication.” It barely got to my understanding as in what context was she trying to refer me. I didn’t quite get it then, as I was too young to understand the real essence of her words, until now. My grand mother lived for 88 years, not having many complications except for the old age syndrome.
Thinking about she said and linking it to the present living standard of my family- in particular, I can conclude stating that majority of our lifestyles are heavily influenced by technology. With the influence of technology, in spite of coming from a rather, a developing country, I still sense the difference between the past and now. My family has a very less risk to cardiovascular disease; I believe the factor that prevented the cause of the disease in entering our chain is because of the health living environment we stayed in. Since, I come from a high context cultured country; everything that becomes an output of the family is a cause of the family’s environment influence. The eating habit, inducing healthy ways of living such as out door activities, and the psychological factor are major factor that contribute in preventing or inducing the risk of heart disease.
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Hi Mr. Prajwal,
ReplyDeleteYour posting is interesting. I can relate to your grandmother story. I used to live in Philippines and I walked several miles to go to school and to the mall. I never thought about exercising until I came to US. Also, having the great technology and easy ways of living makes me more lazy to stay active.
I liked your post about your grandmother. Although my family has always lived in the United States, my mother grew up very poor in a rural area. Your grandmother’s life sounds very much like my grandmothers and moms life when my mom was a child. She grew up in a family of 15 children and there wasn’t money for healthcare and many times for food. They grew much of what they ate or caught fish from the lake that was in the town nearby. My mom will hardly eat fish today. I consider this standard of living “survival.” Fortunately things are much easier for us today. Thank you for sharing your grandmother’s story.
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