The Socio-Ecological Impact on Health
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
I spend the majority of my time here providing information that people can use to improve their health and the health of their families (and clients). However, there is much more to improving the health of this nation than direct education.
There are many factors that impact how each individual chooses to not only eat, they also influence how much and how intensely we exercise, whether or not we smoke, how we drive, whether or not we wear our seat belt and so much more.
This is called the Socio-Ecological (or Social-Ecological) Model. It takes into account all of these other elements beyond just the individual that impact the individual, and it is imperative that we keep these elements in mind and strive to improve them.
These elements are things like Public Policy (federal, state and local laws and regulations), Community (social and cultural norms), Environment (home, work, school, etc), Interpersonal (family, friends) and then the Individual (demographics, attitude, knowledge). Clearly there are many factors that impact how each person makes choices about their health beyond just the individual themselves.
In fact here is a great quote by former Surgeon General David Satcher, from The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, 2001:
“Many people believe that overweight and obesity is a personal responsibility. To some degree they are right, but it is also a community responsibility. When there are no safe, accessible places for children to play or adults to walk, jog, or ride a bike, that is a community responsibility. When school lunchrooms and office cafeterias do not provide healthy and appealing food choices, that is a community responsibility. When new or expectant mothers are not educated about the benefits of breastfeeding, that is a community responsibility. When we do not require daily physical education in our schools, that is also a community responsibility. There is much that we can and should do together.”
The point is that it is imperative that we begin to create an environment, in the broadest sense, that supports people making daily decisions that support their health. We need workplace environments that encourage employees to take walks at lunch, and if they provide food, they provide healthy food options.
We need to create school environments that bring back and emphasize the importance of play – recess, gym, etc. When I was a kid we got to outside twice per day for recess, one quick one in the morning and one longer one after lunch. We also had weekly gym class. Today with the overemphasis on standardized tests (whose scores would be improved if children were more physically active and fit) this has been lost from the curriculum.
We need to create communities where active lifestyles and healthy eating are encouraged and promoted. We can do this by creating biking, walking and running paths, etc and supporting local agriculture, farmer’s markets and CSA’s.
We need to disentangle our federal food policies from the interests of giant corporations (hello Monsanto). While they might never be separate, and that is ok, a greater emphasis of policies should be to improve the health of the citizens of this country, not to fatten the wallets of giant food corporations.
We also need to change social norms and expectations. If you don’t drink excessive alcohol or eat excessive junk/dessert at work parties, family gatherings, etc then you shouldn’t be looked at as a “health nut” you should be looked at as an example. We need to embrace physical activity, learn to unplug and decrease the stress in our lives and enjoy the outdoors more.
The point is that those of us who are passionate about improving the health of our families, our clients, our country and ourselves need to go beyond just personal education and choice. We need to work to impact the other elements of influence, and create an environment that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
To learn more about this check out this teaser trailer for a documentary called Designing Healthy Communities, a 4-part series that will be on public television come January, 2012.
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Posted on September 2nd, 2011 by Brian St. Pierre
10 Comments
September 2nd, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Here here! I could not have said it any better than how Brain did.
I actually went to high school with Brian and work for Occupational Medical Consulting, LLC out of Leeds Maine. We work with companies to promote health and wellness by implementing a wellness program and creating a culture that promotes healthy lifestyles.
Something I found in the course of my work:
“In the statement, published July 25 in the journal Circulation, the authors called for community-based changes that make adopting a healthier lifestyle easier. They calculated that every $1 spent on the construction of walking or biking paths would cut medical costs by $3.”
Live better.
September 19th, 2011 at 8:09 am
I wasn’t sure if this could give you some material to write on.
But I’m curious to your stance on learning disabilities in children and adults in regards to nutrition and supplementation.
5htp is obviously one for seratonin. But what about dopamine or other neurotransmitters.
Do we know of foods or supplements that support these?
Also, what would be your stance on Rx Medications such as ritalin, aderal, concerta, stratera, dexadrine, etc….?
Thanks for all the information you’ve put out.
September 27th, 2011 at 5:28 pm
[...] The Socio-Ecological Impact of Health [...]
September 28th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
[...] The Socio-Ecological Impact on Health -Brian St Pierre. [...]
April 25th, 2016 at 7:05 am
Four score and seven minutes ago, I read a sweet arctlie. Lol thanks
July 19th, 2016 at 6:05 am
danMultumesc. Ceva detalii despre concertul Mark K.? Mie preturile mi se par mari pentru noi si pentru locatia aleasa: sala palatului. Cu 130 ron stai linga tavan si nu vezi nimic, plus ca te usuci de atita caldura. As merge la concert dar parca 300 ron e cam mult.
October 3rd, 2016 at 9:12 pm
samuel, i am deluged with time deadlines for a second novel before needing to return to full or very-full time work but just needed to tell you what a treat of an idea your prompt is; had read claudia’s and got a whiff of how much fun it could be; so anyway, best wishes, hope to read some of ya’ll’s creations thanks!
October 31st, 2016 at 9:15 am
Keep these articles coming as they’ve opened many new doors for me.
November 20th, 2016 at 10:29 am
This site is like a classroom, except I don’t hate it. lol
February 5th, 2017 at 1:37 pm
Great post! My six month old daughter is like yours. She flips and flops like a whale ashore, waves her arms madly, and kicks about while nursing. All of this makes it extremely difficult to aim for "modesty" while in public. I also like the Target nursing tanks. So convenient!-Jessica [ .fqkj{position:absolute;clip:rect(445px,auto,auto,488px);}approval ]