Reflect your views on the statement, "We ourselves are responsible for our ill-health"
(300-350 words)
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Most of the discussion in bioethics and health policy concerning social responsibility for health has focused on society's obligation to provide access to healthcare. While ensuring access to healthcare is an important social responsibility, societies can promote health in many other ways, such as through sanitation, pollution control, food and drug safety, health education, disease surveillance, urban planning and occupational health. Greater attention should be paid to strategies for health promotion other than access to healthcare, such as environmental and public health and health research.
Keywords: responsibility, public health, environmental health, access to healthcare
Lifestyle plays a major role in most of the illnesses in industrialised nations.1 Six of the 10 leading factors contributing to the global burden of disease are lifestyle related: unsafe sex, high blood pressure, tobacco use, alcohol use, high cholesterol and obesity.2Lifestyle‐related illnesses also contribute to the rising costs of healthcare. Spending on healthcare accounts for about 16% of the gross domestic product in the USA, or US$1.9 trillion.3 Although smoking has declined steadily there since the 1960s, smoking‐related medical expenses are still about US$75.5 billion per year.4 Obesity, which has been climbing in the past two decades, accounts for about US$75 billion in healthcare costs there each year.5 Alcoholism and drug addiction in the USA account for annual healthcare costs of about US$22.5 billion and US$12 billion, respectively.6,7 Federal government spending on healthcare relating to HIV/AIDS is over US$13 billion per year.8
Given the well‐documented relationship between lifestyle, disease burden and healthcare costs, it makes economic and medical sense to hold individuals morally responsible for their health‐related choices. While this view has a great deal of intuitive appeal, it also faces numerous objections.9,10,11,12 First, holding individuals entirely responsible for their own health conflicts with medicine's obligation to treat the sick and society's obligation to take care of vulnerable people.9 Second, it is unfair to hold individuals responsible for their own health if they cannot make sound health‐related choices because of ignorance, mental incompetence, addictive behaviors or cultural pressures.10 Third, it would be exceedingly difficult to implement a system that holds individuals responsible for their own health, since diseases and disabilities result from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors.11 Although individuals should play an important role in maintaining their own health, they should not be held entirely responsible for it. Assuming that responsibility for health rests either with individuals or with society, it follows that society should also help to promote health and prevent disease.9,10
Assuming that society is partly responsible for the health of its members, however, does not settle the question of how it should fulfil this responsibility. Most of the discussion in bioethics and health policy has focused on society's obligation to provide access to healthcare.13 Undoubtedly, ensuring access is an important social responsibility, but there are many other ways in which societies can promote health, such as through sanitation, pollution control, food and drug safety, health education, disease surveillance, urban planning and occupational health. Greater attention should be paid to strategies of promoting health other than access to healthcare, such as environmental and public health and health research.
In recent years, some scholars and professionals have begun to draw attention to a variety of other methods that societies can use to promote health.14,15,16 These other methods address strategies for preventing disease through public or environmental health, or through health research. (
Keywords: responsibility, public health, environmental health, access to healthcare
Lifestyle plays a major role in most of the illnesses in industrialised nations.1 Six of the 10 leading factors contributing to the global burden of disease are lifestyle related: unsafe sex, high blood pressure, tobacco use, alcohol use, high cholesterol and obesity.2Lifestyle‐related illnesses also contribute to the rising costs of healthcare. Spending on healthcare accounts for about 16% of the gross domestic product in the USA, or US$1.9 trillion.3 Although smoking has declined steadily there since the 1960s, smoking‐related medical expenses are still about US$75.5 billion per year.4 Obesity, which has been climbing in the past two decades, accounts for about US$75 billion in healthcare costs there each year.5 Alcoholism and drug addiction in the USA account for annual healthcare costs of about US$22.5 billion and US$12 billion, respectively.6,7 Federal government spending on healthcare relating to HIV/AIDS is over US$13 billion per year.8
Given the well‐documented relationship between lifestyle, disease burden and healthcare costs, it makes economic and medical sense to hold individuals morally responsible for their health‐related choices. While this view has a great deal of intuitive appeal, it also faces numerous objections.9,10,11,12 First, holding individuals entirely responsible for their own health conflicts with medicine's obligation to treat the sick and society's obligation to take care of vulnerable people.9 Second, it is unfair to hold individuals responsible for their own health if they cannot make sound health‐related choices because of ignorance, mental incompetence, addictive behaviors or cultural pressures.10 Third, it would be exceedingly difficult to implement a system that holds individuals responsible for their own health, since diseases and disabilities result from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors.11 Although individuals should play an important role in maintaining their own health, they should not be held entirely responsible for it. Assuming that responsibility for health rests either with individuals or with society, it follows that society should also help to promote health and prevent disease.9,10
Assuming that society is partly responsible for the health of its members, however, does not settle the question of how it should fulfil this responsibility. Most of the discussion in bioethics and health policy has focused on society's obligation to provide access to healthcare.13 Undoubtedly, ensuring access is an important social responsibility, but there are many other ways in which societies can promote health, such as through sanitation, pollution control, food and drug safety, health education, disease surveillance, urban planning and occupational health. Greater attention should be paid to strategies of promoting health other than access to healthcare, such as environmental and public health and health research.
In recent years, some scholars and professionals have begun to draw attention to a variety of other methods that societies can use to promote health.14,15,16 These other methods address strategies for preventing disease through public or environmental health, or through health research. (
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Answer:
We ourselves are responsible for our ill-health
Explanation:
It is rightly said that 'health is wealth'. With the growing of junk food consumption the younger generation is suffering from the diseases like obesity and chronic diseases. With the 50% of the total population ranging between 21-35 years, the consumption of junk food and habits like smoking and drinking has increased due to work pressure or study pressure. We as a responsible person for our health should opt for more activities to reduce stress. one must involve itself into activities like sports, meditation and exercises to reduce stress and anxiety. We ourselves are responsible for our ill health. With the depletion of environment we must take care of our body by engaging into healthy activities.
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