Social factors predicting exercise to prevent heart disease

            Physical activity is a health behavior with a documented impact on heart disease risk, although more than a third of Americans report zero leisure time physical activity (Healthy People, 2001).  What social or structural factors could explain the likelihood of getting exercise?  There are many different social factors that can impact exercise habits.  First off a social factor is an aspects of a society that can influence a persons actions or behaviors.  Some social factors would be neighborhood, age, education, and race.  All of these factors can influence ones habits of exercising.  Someone’s social factors can influence their exercise levels in different ways.  Exercise can be a de-stressor, but isn’t just to distress it also helps improve heart health.  Having a secondary lifestyle can increase the risk of heart disease.  Heart disease is the top killer of the United States.  “About 600,000 people die from heart disease in the United States every year” (CDC staff, 2013).  Being active is one way to prevent heart disease. 

            Above I talked about four different social factors that can affect exercise habits and that can potential put someone at risk for heart disease.  One that has a big influence is the neighborhood someone lives in.  There can be many things about a neighborhood that can influence exercise habits, like safety of the area, and distance to and from a gym.  “Access to exercise facilities is an environmental characteristic that is presumably a factor in a person's decision to exercise or not” (Bandura, 2004).  Close proximity of an exercise facility can be used as a visual stimulus.  If people are passing the gym everyday going to or from work it might make them think about working out.  Also if gyms are closer people won’t get frustrated with traffic or inconvenience of driving to gym (Bandura, 2004).  If a neighborhood is dangerous one most likely won’t go out side for a run or other physical activity.  Basically being in a dangerous neighborhood or living farther away from a gym will reduce a person’s use of the gym or ways to find a good way to be active and increase their risk in heart disease. 

            From personal experience living on the OIT campus I exercise much more then I ever did being at home.  One reason why I exercise more here at OIT is because there is a free gym that I can use and I don’t have to drive any where, I can just walk there.  For me it is very convenient.  I did go running every once in awhile when I was at home. But having a gym with different machines I could work on is really nice.

            So I leave you with these: is there ways to improve the habits of exercise in the United States?  Should the government be concerned about how much Americas exercise?

           

           

1. Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health education and behavior, 31(2), 143-164.

2. CDC Staff. (March 19, 2013). Retrieved from website: http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

3. Healthy People. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=33