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Essay of the indigenous health in australia
Essay of the indigenous health in australia
Essay of the indigenous health in australia
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The dramatic and widespread problem of obesity has been deemed an epidemic by various health organizations. Obesity and numerous other diseases can and do occur in a large number of the Australian population and affects men and women, children and various people from different social and cultural backgrounds. The spike of obesity in the Australian population can lead to countless health issues including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (increases the chance of a stroke), various types of cancers, musculoskeletal problems, respiratory problems. Aboriginal Australians are a high risk of developing obesity. This essay will explore this issue through a range of geographical and socioeconomic perspectives. Recommendations will be made to …show more content…
The diversity of their food supply was affected by geographical landform, climate and season. The dramatic lifestyle and diet changes Indigenous people were forced to go through during the European occupying Australia involve various physical, genetic and dietary workings. The traditional Aboriginal diet consisted of foods very rich in protein and carbohydrates. Their diets were also mostly low in sugar, high in nutrients and quite low in energy. In comparison to the diet after the European invasion, the foods consumed became very high in carbohydrates and saturated fats. The energy contained in the traditional indigenous foods was collected by the people following a strict and effective hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Westernisation completely changed the traditional and healthy diet these people were used to and caused the loss of these hunter-gatherer roles. Recently, the increasing unemployment rate requiring a large amount of physical labour (particularly in the more rural areas of Australia) and easier access to government welfare has contributed to the rise of obesity and decline of physical …show more content…
Obesity is a high-risk factor and the main cause for the high morbidity and mortality rates in the indigenous communities. Obesity is a reversible epidemic if a strict, healthy diet is followed along with daily exercise, leading a less sedentary lifestyle, improving sleep patterns and reducing increased stress. The average person is required to get at least 150 to 300 minutes of reasonable physical activity a week to prevent the gain of unwanted weight. Moderate exercise may include fast/ speed walking or swimming. You must follow a strict food regime and focus on foods low in calories and very dense in nutrients such as fruits and veggies that are required for normal body
The Aboriginal people of Australia were here thousands of years before European settlement and we forced them to adapt to the changes of environment around them. This change might be for better or worse, but we will never find out. But with the European settlement came the birth of industry, agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacture, electricity, gas and water just to name a few.
Wang, Z., Hoy, W. E., & Si, D. (2010). Incidence of type 2 diabetes in aboriginal australians: An 11-year prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 10(1), 487-487. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-487
Advanced knowledge of Aboriginal Health policy and issues at the level and national level including understanding successful measures around Closing the Gap in Aboriginal Health inequality. My desire to work in the aboriginal field begins since I was very young. That is why at 16 years of my age I started to be even more interested in understanding all the issues related to the aborigines of this country. Over time, I looked that all my knowledge be trained at health level basis to help to improve the Aboriginal quality of life standards.
The 1967 referendum resulted in the change of the Constitution on August 10 of that year, initiating the start of great change for the lives of indigenous people in Australia. The referendum sought to change Sections 51 and 127 of the Constitution. Section 51 stated the Federal Government could make laws for anyone in the nation except aborigines, leaving state governments in charge (Creative Spirits – 1967 Referendum, online, 14/8/15). Section 127 specified that when the population of the Commonwealth was counted, indigenous people were not included (Creative Spirits – 1967 Referendum, online, 14/8/15). According to Faith Bandler, an indigenous civil rights activist, it was important to force the Commonwealth to be responsible for the aborigines
Hampton, R. & Toombs, M. (2013). Indigenous Australians and health. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.
There are 1.1 million Aboriginal peoples living in Canada as of 1996 and 408,100 of them are women (Statistics Canada, 2000; Dion Stout et al, 2001). More than half live in urban centres and two thirds of those reside in Western Canada (Hanselmann, 2001). Vancouver is comprised of 28,000 Aboriginal people representing 7% of the population (Joseph, 1999). Of this total population, 70% live in Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood which is the Downtown Eastside (DTES).
Overweight and obesity problem is becoming more and more serious in Australia. Not only Australians but also the world’s problem obesity is studied as one of the main causes of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and some cancers and sleep apnoea as well as other serious conditions, which put national economies and individual lives at risk. Obesity is also regarded as epidemic. Obesity is caused by a calorific imbalance between diet intake and consumed calories. Obesity has become the biggest threat to Public Health in Australia shown by Australia Bureau of Statistics (2013). Also, the prevalence of obesity is predicted as the ratio of obesity in adults and children will be doubled by 2025 (Backholer et al.2012). It is believed that this phenomenon is happening due to many social determinants of health, which have a strong negative impact on not only individuals but also society and economy. (Wilkinson and Marmot 2003) The social determinants of health are explained as conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age by WHO (Wilkinson & Marmot 2013). Different circumstances can be formed depending on their finance, power and global resources. These social determinants seem to be responsible for health inequities, which seem to be unfair and avoidable. Social determinants of health including social gradient, high calorie food intake, excessive amounts of stress and poor early life care are the relevant factors to contribute to be or being obesity. It is important to understand that the correlation of social determinants of health and obesity to manage the health problems and enhance public’s health.
The World Health Organization defines obesity as the “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health”. (WHO, 2014). It is considered to be a medical condition which may reduce a person's life expectancy due to the negative effect it can have on our health and well-being. An epidemic is said to affect a disproportionately large number of people in a population and spreads rapidly. In recent decades, it has been suggested that we are facing an obesity epidemic. Obesity has been considered as a disease by some for over sixty years. It is more common globally than being underweight. The purpose of this essay is to look at the history of obesity and how it is defined. It will look at some of the causes and consider the effects. It will consider how obesity is framed, whether we are indeed in the midst of an epidemic, or if this suggestion is merely moral panic.
The article ‘The Evolution of Diet’ by author Ann Gibbons published in National Geographic looks at the impact of changes in the diets of indigenous people. Gibbons looks at the differences in the diets of six indigenous people groups and the impact of globalization has had upon them. Gibbons also looks at the health issues that are attributed to the new diets of these people along with the possible benefits that can be gained by following a form of the Paleolithic diet.
1) First topic chosen was wellness which is “a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential.” (The National Wellness Institute, para 3) What wellness means to me is being with my family, surrounding myself with your loved ones, or even being with the environment. To Indigenous people it is the exact same with their wellness with each other, or the wellness with their environment. Mental wellness in Indigenous is living a journey along the way being fulfilled in good health. This changed my thoughts because sometimes I don’t always see the good or surround myself in happiness which can create bad health for me.
Aboriginal health is majorly determined by several social factors that are related to their cultural beliefs. Health professionals regularly find it difficult to provide health care to aboriginal people due to the cultural disparity that exists between the conventional and aboriginal cultures, predominantly with regard to systems of health belief (Carson, Dunbar, & Chenhall, 2007). The discrepancy between the aboriginal culture and typical Western customs seems to amplify the difficulties experienced in every cross-cultural setting of health service delivery (Selin & Shapiro, 2003). Most of the social determinants of the aboriginal health are due to their strict belief in superstition and divine intervention.
This paper is about the concept of primary health care and its involvement and application towards the issue of obesity in Australia. With the introduction and adoption of primary health care in 1978 as an approach to evolve and advocate healthy choices towards the Australian population influenced the Australian health care systems response and treatment towards health issues such as the national health priority areas, which are
“Tackling Obesity in England.” House of Commons – Public Accounts – Ninth Report. 4 August 2004. .
The colonisation of Australia occurred throughout 1788-1990. During this time, Great Britain discovered Australia and decided that it would become a new British colony (“Australian History: Colonisation 17-88-1990”, 2014.). It was decided that convicts would be sent to Australia and used for labour to build the new colony. There are many health determinants that are effecting the health of Indigenous Australians including; poor living conditions, risk behaviours and low socioeconomic status. Many of these determinants have an effect on the Indigenous Australians due to the colonisation of Australia.
Obesity is a common condition that affects thousands around the world. Its causes may vary from simply eating too much to not getting the exercise needed to attempting to quit smoking. Treatment of this condition may be as simple as getting the right diet or exercise, or a planned schedule from one’s physician. Obesity may be heredity or may be a result of any of the above mentioned causes. It is a serious matter to be dealt with yet may be treated easily.