Socio-culture Essay Example

Socio-culture Essay In a world where evolution of change is a social norm, we must stay informed of new developments that will affect our attitudes about how we should live our lives. With the proliferation of new developments of how to live better from books, newspapers, magazines, and news stations, people must discern what developments are useful to their situation. Socio-culture factors influence our decisions and behaviors. It is also a factor of how healthy we live our lives which ultimately can determine how long we will live.Our demographic structure is an important factor on how long we will live. Demographics such as age, gender, income, and education, effects how we live, what we do, the resources available to us, and what motivates us. â€Å"Life expectancy changes as one gets older. By the time a child reaches their first year, their chances of living longer increase. By the time of late adulthood, ones chances of survival to a very old age are quite good.† (Rosenberg)Younger people are more apt to live a carefree lifestyle because their life expectancy rate is the highest among all age groups. Although they may be well informed on health issues the 18-24 year old age group has the highest rate of individuals without health insurance. They frequent more fast food restaurants, engage in irresponsible behaviors, reckless driving, recreational drugs, sports activities which all affect their short and long term health.By the time we become middle-aged adults we begin to become more health conscious and our lifestyles change accordingly. Exercise, healthy eating habits, including low-fat, non-fat, and no cholesterol products become a major concern. Although middle-aged people desire to live healthier lifestyles, they tend to be overwhelmed by distractions of everyday life like careers and family, which affects their behaviors. Time becomes an issue and exercise becomes a distant second to these distractions. Healthy eating is substituted by convenience of fast food restaurants.The way we live our lives in our youth affects our health in our older years. Exercise, healthy eating, drugs, smoking, and other behaviors all affect how healthy our lives will be in our nest years. Elderly individuals are concerned with maintaining healthy lifestyle which has been affected by their living habits in the years prior.Education plays a big role in life expectancy. It determines our income, our place of residence, and the market which we shop. This also â€Å"Life expectancy is higher in high-income countries than in all but a few low- and middle-income countries.†(Rosenberg)â€Å"In our research, my colleagues and I found that an Asian way of eating (predominantly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products) and living (moderate exercise, stress management and strong communities) may stop and even reverse the progression of coronary heart disease as well as prostate cancer.†(Ornish) Increases our health conscious habits raise a s we become more educated on the long term effects of unhealthy eating. Educated people tend to be more aware of the trends as they read more, they are exposed to healthy living behaviors through resources they have available to them, and they also tend to have more money which affords. They tend to research and seek out new trends in healthy living. They are also taught about health, and healthy living lifestyles in college courses.â€Å"Race and ethnicity continue to be salient predictors of well-being in American society. On average, non-Hispanic whites and Asians experience advantages in health, education, and economic status relative to blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians.† (Economic) Although race shows a correlation between healthy living and life expectancy, due to an increase in education and healthy lifestyles, the gap of non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics life expectancy is continuing to close.There is definitely a direct correlation between health and life expectancy. Our lifestyles determine whether we will have heart disease, cancer, how long we will live in a healthy mental state. These determinants of age, income, race, geographic location, and education are directly related to healthy lifestyles. They also show a correlation between one another. Income determines where we will live, while education determines how much income we will possess. Age can also represent our income and education level.â€Å"Socio-culture forces are influences in a society and its culture that result in changes in attitudes, beliefs, norms, customs, and lifestyles.† (Pride) These forces can correlate negatively or positively to a person’s healthy living and thus how long they will live in this world. As the world continues an upward trend of awareness of healthy living necessities, life expectancy rates continue to rise. In the United States women have a life expectancy of 80 years of age while men have a life expectancy of 74 years of age. This trend continues to increase as we learn and continue changes in our lifestyles.