What factors can influence women to adopt healthier lifestyles and engage in preventative behaviors so as to reduce their risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer?
I believe some of the most important "health maintenance and prevention" things women can do are to 1) be aware of what is normal for their own bodies, 2) and be aware of their family history and risk factors for developing certain diseases.
By being aware of what is normal for their own bodies, this means they must have routine physical checkups, lab tests, mammograms, blood pressure checks, vision screening, dental checkups, etc. It is also very important to have a good relationship with one's own personal physician, who can offer advice and provide treatment when/if unusual physical symptoms occur.
Family history can play such a large role in our health conditions, particularly in women with inherited genes for breast or ovarian cancer, and we must be very proactive in becoming educated regarding our own risks for such diseases. The same holds true for cardiovascular disease and associated risks if there is a family history.
One factor that might influence women to adopt healthier lifestyles is to take a hard look at their own family histories, going back several generations to grandparents or great-grandparents. Granted, our ancestors lived in different times and had different stresses, different diets, and different lifestyles. But reviewing what illnesses or diseases they had will likely give us an idea of what kind of genetic predisposition might exist for certain illnesses. If we are aware of what is already "in the genes", then we can be much more proactive in adopting a healthy, active lifestyle so we can prevent these illnesses in our generations.
Carol Martin
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Your post is interesting, in fact it's funny because my husband, sister and I had a similar conversation at dinner the other night. I feel that although family history is important when looking at genetic possibilities for disease it will not make that much impact on people today. I mean that when it doesn't hit close to home it does not have that that effect. One example, my paternal grandmother was a very brittle diabetic. 25-30 yrs ago she had to check her sugar up to six times a day which usually resulted in an insulin shot. This has not really prompted me to do anything about my diet. I do feel that if my father was diabetic it would make a difference to me. I'm really not sure. I don't know how many people other than me feel this way but I have seen many that were more affected by what was happening with an immediate family member than with the history of their families.
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