Learning Journal Entry #5

From chapter 7 of our readings I learned that because machines do most of the work many people end up leading sedentary lives causing a variety of health risks in which the government and social institutions are trying to find ways of helping people increase the physical activity. Physical activity includes any kind of movement and is measured in calories of energy expanded per minutes. Experts say that people should walk for at least 30 minutes and that moderate rather than vigorous amounts of physical activity is sufficient for health. Physical activity has six components including motivation, cardiorespiratory fitness, body strength, endurance, flexibility, and body composition. The guidelines for integrating physical activity into your life include setting goals, developing/carrying out a plan, and a tracking/evaluating your progress. The most common type of sports related injury is exercising a body part or the entire body past it limits and that special precautions should be used when exercising in hot or cold weather.

From chapter 16 of our readings I learned that a drug is a chemical substance capable of producing a change in a person’s physiology. I also learned that whether it is illegal or legal, medical or nonmedical, the use of drugs in the United States is very widespread. Drug use is greatly encouraged thanks in a large part by the extensive advertising of pharmaceutical companies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires extensive testing of a new drug for effectiveness and safety before it is allowed on the market. The most common drugs are stimulants, such as cocaine, amphetamines, and caffeine, depressants such as sedatives, hypnotics, and tranquilizers, and opiates, marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine, and Ecstasy. Drug abuse is the overuse of a drug which most of the time points to the loss of control. People who abuse drugs are sometimes referred to as being physcoactive, which means that they alter their feelings, thoughts, and perceptions. The body builds up a tolerance to a drug which requires the use of more of the drug to achieve its effects.

From the class lectures I learned that there are 10 health mistakes that even smart people occasionally make which include not drinking enough water on a daily basis, having no physical recently, not getting enough sleep, attempting to exercise through pain, not washing their hands during the day, not eating breakfast, not getting enough calcium in their diet, being too busy to relax, not wearing their seat belts, and not knowing the medical history of their relatives.

I also learned many effective weight loss strategies such as: eating white breast meat instead of dark, eating grilled instead of fried fish, limiting your intake of cheese, oil, butter, and cream, when ordering a baked potato have the fixings put on the side, adding extra lettuce, tomatoes, and mustard to a burger or sandwich instead of cheese and mayonnaise, ordering a low-calorie dressing on the side, preparing steamed vegetables without the use of butter or oil, when preparing an omelet using only egg whites and going light on the cheese, having half of your meal boxed to go in advance so you eat less, using a marinara instead of a cream sauce, and substituting a salad for French fries with dressing on the side prior to eating a meal.

From participating in online discussions and replies with my fellow classmates, I learned that a staggering 60% of North American college students lack the recommended amount of physical activity taking into account a very busy academic lifestyle of sitting in lectures, studying, and doing work on the computer. In an age of electronic gadgets, the time that college students do have as part of their leisure is being used to play video games, text messaging, surfing the internet , listening to music, and watching TV instead of budgeting in some type of healthy physically activity. We also talked about the advantages of having an exercise partner to motivate you and the importance of physical activity in relieving the stressors of college.

Regarding this topic, the following websites were referenced:

http://apha.confex.com/apha/135am/techprogram/paper_159552.htm

http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home_Page&TEMPLATE=CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7764

http://dailyburn.com/home2

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f02/web1/sfrayne.html

http://www.empoweredforgrowth.com/how-to-stay-motivated-with-an-exercise-buddy/

http://www.howtobefit.com/exercise-to-relax.htm

In our second discussion we talked about how addicted we are to caffeine in the form of our daily coffee and soda and how it affects our health.

Regarding this topic, the following websites were referenced:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/asthma-why-caffeine-can-make-it-worse.html

http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/caffeine.htm

http://www.testcountry.org/10-important-caffeine-side-effects-that-people-do-not-think-about.htm

http://waterforlifeusa.com/blog/uncategorized/8-ways-soda-fizzles-your-health/

http://www.chetday.com/softdrinkdangers.htm

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/UnderstandingOver-the-CounterMedicines/UCM205286.pdf

Lastly we talked about drug addiction and that there is another form of substance abuse that can be found right in our homes known as inhalants found in the form of such products as nail polish remover, White-out, and whipped cream dispensers. We also learned that they are actually more dangerous than street drugs because they are cheap, can be purchased legally, and are easy to obtain.

Regarding this topic, the following websites were referenced:

http://helpguide.org/mentaldrug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm

http://www.nida.nih.gov/scienceofaddiction/treatment.html

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/inhalants.html

http://inhalants.org/

Participation:

As with all the modules that I have completed so far, I feel that I have put the needed time and effort into each one by following instructions and participating in the discussions and as a result I have received great grades and comments through this course. The only problem that I had to overcome during this online course was getting into the habit of spreading my attendance out over the allotted time of each module which I succeeded in doing. From now until the end of the semester I plan on keeping up the good work and completing this course with an “A”.

Vocabulary Words:

Physcoactive: is any substance that alters mood, perception, and other brain functions.

I did not know that that many drugs of abuse alter our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions and that they cause psychological dependence.


Sedentary life: is a pattern of living that lacks physical activity sufficient for good health.

I have learned that we live in a world full of machines and gadgets that do most of the work for us and as a result, we live very sedentary lives and that it is up to us to give our bodies a daily workout to overcome our lack of physical activity in our lives and lead a healthier lifestyle.


Active Link:

I posted an active link that allows the instructor to access my blog account for the module.