A Psychological Perspective ,,,,Study plan 10 - Essay Example

What strategies could you use to influence levels of exercise within a community close to where you live?Health behaviors can be defined as actions that threaten, enhance or maintain the health of an individual. They can be termed as activities that an individual abstains from or practices so as to reduce risks from accidents or illness, (Barkway 2009). This means that health behaviors can either be positive or negative. A healthy diet or eating in moderation is one of such health activities. When done regularly they become a health habit.

One of the strategies should be the informative approach. This is where the community, is educated to the dangers of failure to exercise. Lifestyle plays a crucial role in management of illness. Insufficient exercises, obesity of being overweight are classified as risk factors in the modern society. The community must avoid the risky lifestyles that result in lifestyle diseases. Health psychology should also be addressed to find out the reasons causing people to engage in risky behaviors. Failure to do exercise in the community results to illness.

Psychological and cognitive theories are indispensable in checking the belief system of people with regard to health behaviors, specifically poor exercises in the community, (Buckworth & Dishman 2002). Community beliefs that encourage poor eating habits and risky lifestyle should be discouraged using psychological approach i.e. perceptions and environmental approach. Behavior change programs would address what triggers the actual behavior i.e. the stimulus effect and how it can be controlled.

As part of the strategy, the consequences of the lack of exercise would to be openly discussed. Reasons why people fail to exercise would then be measured and recorded. This would deal with the internal and external factors that contribute to the current levels of exercise, (Fieger 2009).Work citedBarkway, P. 2009. Psychology for health professionals, 1(1), 126. Buckworth, J., & Dishman, R. K. 2002. Exercise Psychology (1st ed.). Human Kinetics. Fieger, H. 2009. Behavior Change: A View from the Inside Out (1st ed.). Word clay.