Designing Healthy Communities - Essay Example

Public-centered communities include an abandoned mall in Georgia being transformed into an 8th-grade school and former students from Georgia, who are creating visionary projects that, are changing Atlanta.

The Host, Dr. Richard Jackson, MD, MPH is a pediatrician by profession and worked with the CDC before becoming chair at the UCLA Department of Health Sciences. Jackson believes that America was built in a manner that did not cater to the health needs of people. Doing the research on the environment and human health, Richardson realized that people are not doing enough to realize what effects in the environment are affecting their health. The author developed the TV series and wrote the book as a step to help create awareness of the effects the current environment people have created has on health.

In the episode, the narrator provides information on the relationship between obesity and Type 2 diabetes. People become obese mainly as a result of unhealthy lifestyles. As a result of obesity, there are very high chances of such an individual developing Type 2 Diabetes. According to CDC (2014), children experiencing obesity have a higher likelihood of developing pre-diabetic conditions. Similar research found a relationship between obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in Norway (Hjartaker, Langlesh, & Weiderpass, 2008).

Most public health problems facing the American Society are related to their lifestyles. The most common public health hazard is the dependence of Americans on cars. The distance between home, shopping mall, and the workplace is big to the extent that many people have to commute every day. People spent many hours driving thus reducing their time to exercise. In addition to the lack of exercise, dependence on fast foods is another health hazard facing public health and the American community. Unfitness and eating of junk food is the main reason explaining the high rate of obesity among Americans (Jackson, 2013). Poor urban planning, Poor eating habits, and lifestyle are some of the factors resulting in increased rates of chronic diseases among most people.

However, according to Jackson, people can combat chronic diseases through the use of smart design and better urban planning that encourages more exercise and healthy lifestyle measures among people. Communities can focus more on encouraging children to play more by creating playgrounds. People should use bicycles and walk for transport, and the community should be encouraged to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits for their meals. As Jackson recommends, people should thrive to make the environment healthier if they seek to improve public health.

However, the episode did not capture the effect of policymakers and governments in fostering environmentally healthy lifestyles. Though the issues of environmental health should start at the individual level, the government and other policy-making bodies have a role to play in ensuring that the environment is kept healthy. 

Though Jackson is successful in presenting his arguments in this episode, future episodes should include more than just individual local participation but also the participation from the government and other interested organizations.

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