Health compromising
behaviors
By bharghavi
Characteristics of health-compromising
behaviours
– • Smoking
– • Alcoholism and problem drinking
– • Substance dependence
– • Obesity
– • Eating disorders
Smoking
• Single greatest cause of preventable death
• Increases the risk of many diseases and disorders
• Co workers and family members of smokers are affected by
second hand smoke
Effects of Smoking :
• Weight and smoking can interact to increase mortality
• Smoking and depression can interact to substantially increase
the risk for cancer
• Related to anxiety in adolescence
Factors Associated with Smoking in
Adolescents
– • Initial experimentation
– • Peer pressure
– • Interacting with other smokers
– • Lack of discipline and monitoring in schools
– • Increase in stress
– • Depression
– • Low self-esteem and Dependency
– • Feelings of powerlessness
– • Social isolation
Alcoholism and Problem Drinking
– Causes :
– • Genetics
– • Socio demographic factors
– • Stress - Financial and social
– • Low social support
– • Unemployment
– • Depression
Treatments of Alcohol Abuse
– Cognitive-behavioral modification programs
– Providing employment opportunities and
– social support Treatment programs
– • Detoxification: Conducted in a carefully supervised and monitored
medical setting for hard-core alcoholics Relapse prevention
Substance Dependence
– • Addiction:
– Person becomes physically or psychologically dependent on a
substance following repeated use over time
– • Withdrawal:
– Unpleasant symptoms experienced by people when they stop
using the dependent substance
– • Causes anxiety, irritability, intense cravings for the substance,
nausea, headaches, tremors, and hallucinations
Effects of substance dependence
– • Physical dependence:
– Body adjusts to substance and incorporates its use into normal
functioning of the body’s tissues
– • Tolerance:
– Body increasingly adapts to the use of a substance
– Craving:
– Strong desire to engage in a behavior or consume a substance
Obesity
– • Excessive accumulation of body fat
– Contributes to:
– • Death rates for all cancers and cardiovascular disease
– • Atherosclerosis, hypertension, Type II diabetes, and heart
failure
– • Increases risks in surgery, anesthesia administration, and
childbearing
Preventive Measures for Obesity
– • Training parents on sensible meal-planning and
eating habits
– • Changing lifestyles at an young age
– • School-based interventions
– • Social engineering strategies
Eating Disorders
– • Developed due to the pursuit of thinness
– • Highest disability and mortality rates of all
behavioral disorders
– • Lead to:
– • Depression and anxiety
– • Low self esteem and a poor sense of mastery
Treating Anorexia
– • Therapy
– • Cognitive-behavioral approaches
– • Family therapy
– • Prevention
– • Addressing social norms
– • Addressing the health risks of eating disorders
– • Urging symptomatic individuals to accept treatments
Anorexia Nervosa
– Obsessive disorder amounting to self-starvation
– • Body weight is well below optimum level Causes
– • Genetic factors - Genes involving the serotonin, dopamine,
and estrogen systems
– • Interactions between genetic and environmental factors
– • Dysregulated biological stress systems
– • Personality characteristics
– • Family interaction patterns
Thank you
