Reference no: EM131381600

The cause of a patient's health can be very closely related to their individual attributes. For example, a person with a family history of high blood pressure or mental illness is more likely to develop said illness than someone with no family history of the illnesses. This is just one way that personal attributes affect health. For many people, the more they age the more their metabolism slows down. If a 45-year-old person has a large appetite, this can easily, and quickly, lead to severe obesity; where as a hefty diet wouldn't pose any issues for a 16-year-old with a higher metabolism. Also, height and gender can play a major role in determining a weight that is or is not healthy. It is possible for two people to both be 150 pounds and for one to be at a healthy weight and for the other to be obese.

This depends solely on personal attributes. In the chapter 3 case study of Urban Obesity in The Gambia, many people in the region viewed body fat as "beautiful [and as] a sign of wealth" (Helman, 2007). However, in America, obesity is viewed in a more negative light and as a sign of bad health. In Japan, due to cultural beliefs, it is highly disliked to disfigure the bodies of the deceased for any reason and therefore organ transplants are not widely accepted in Japanese society (Sehata, et. al., 2009). Therefore, if anyone in that region is in need of a kidney or lung transplant in order to be healthy again, they would not accept the organ because doing so doesn't align with their cultural beliefs.

My question is: Do you agree with the widely-accepted thought that family genes, health-wise, are genetic and determine whether a person is more susceptible to certain illnesses. For example, if your doctor tells you that you are at a high risk for high blood pressure because your grandparents have it, would you agree with him? Why or why not?

Helman, C. (2007). Culture, Health, and Illness. London: Hodder Arnold.

Sehata, G., Kimura, T. (2009, February 28). Organ Transplants and Brain-Dead Donors: A Japanese Doctor 's Perspective. Mortality, 9 (1), 13 - 26.