- Arts
- 4 Reliable Tips for Handling Twilight Party Disasters
- How Winning Competitions Prepares You For Life
- Choose A Celebrated Movie With Just One Click To See Tonight
- Automotive
- Getting Your Car Ready For Winter Driving
- How To Buy Auto Parts
- Buying a New Car Is Not As Hard As You Think
- Business to Business
- Step aside old BOGO and meet the new BOGO
- Bushnell Legend Binoculars
- Great Ways to Boost Sales
- Computers and Electronics
- A Great Way To Start Your Online Moneymaking Journey
- Considering CS4 Design Training In Detail
- Buying A New Laptop? Here Is What You Need To Know
- Dating Matchmaking
- I Want My Ex Back: Tips
- Build A New Relationship Out Of The Ashes With Relationship Breakup Advice
- Taipei Dating - Online Sites Can Help Make New Friends
- Education and Employment
- Grants For Single Mothers Going Back To School
- Scientists Use Contract Inspection
- Psychology Accredited Online Universities - The New Trend In Education
- Entertainment
- Television The Most Popular Form Of Entertainment
- Play Guitar For Beginners The Initial Steps
- 5 Interesting New Moon Twilight Party Favors
- Family and Community
- Pomacanthus Paru : Guide On The Beautiful French Angelfish
- The Facts On How To Get Your Ex Wife Back
- How To Stop Divorce
- Health and Personal Care
- How Haverhill Back Specialist Dr. Sam Amari Helps Locals Live Pain-Free
- How To Lose Weight By Running
- Headaches Alleviated By Chiropractic Adjustments
- Home and Garden
- Bathroom Remodel - A Fruitful Way To Remove Monotony
- Good Practices For Garden Cleanliness
- Selecting The Right Boot Camp For Teens Involves Thoughtful Consideration
- Legal and Financial Services
- Tax Lien Foreclosure Properties: Tips And Strategies The Successful Investor Needs To Know
- New Credit Card Debt Consolidation Loans
- How Car Insurance Rates Work
- Networking
- Network Marketing Could be the Key to Success in a Sluggish Economy
- Great Ways to Boost Sales
- Pets
- Your Aged Pet Need Pain Relief For Dogs
- Pet Urns for Ashes and Cremation
- Your New Pet Guinea Pig - What You'll Need to Take Care of It
- Real Estate and Rentals
- What to Expect From Your REALTOR
- Pondering a New House: New Construction or Existing?
- Selling a Home Read This Helpful Information
- Shopping and Specialty Stores
- Hawaiian Tiki Gifts
- Tips for Selling Old Jewelry
- Bride Shoes With Fashion Sense
- Sports and Recreation
- CQB Tactics In Airsoft
- Dallas Survives Overtime Battle With Kansas City
- What The PSE Brute Compound Bow Is All About!
- Travel and Transportation
- New Zealand North Island Travel Guide
- Save Money On Your Vacation With Online Travel Agents
- Looking For Cheap New York Hotels
Understanding the Community Health Connection
By Christian Goodman Published: 08/18/2009
Why is it that we can access so many things easily, like food, transportation, entertainment, and technology, yet still be so lacking in our daily lives?
Our lives may be easier nowadays with modern amenities, but they could also be taking a toll on our personal interactions. Instead of going to a restaurant with our families and friends, we're speeding through the fast-food line on our way home from work. We are sending emails instead of walking over to discuss a project with a coworker.
In this modern age with all of the modern amenities, it would interesting to know if our familial and close community ties have been impacted and if in turn this has also affected our health.
It is fortunate to us, however, that we are able to get some answers to the burning question of how community ties affect our health because of the work and dedication of a number of specialized researchers in this world.
An Italian-American community in Roseto, Pennsylvania becomes the base camp to a fascinating study conducted by psychiatrists to study this relationship. The Roseto Effect spanned over 30 years starting in the 1950s involving this group of immigrants who were very poor but shared many of the same eating habits as neighboring areas.
The Roseto study found that the people in this particular community generally had longer life spans and were overall much healthier than their neighboring counterparts - even when including risk factors such as smoking and lack of regular exercise.
It was determined that while they maintained their very tight links to their families and community, they also maintained good health. However, over time they started taking on the same self contained habits of the neighboring communities, and as a result acquired the same poor health issues.
Because of the strong community ties, and not other factors such as finances or genetics, the people of Roseto maintained their health while the community itself was maintained.
The idea that closer personal connections such as feelings of love and possibly even caretaking directly is represented further in a previous article I wrote regarding pets and their positive impact on human's lives. Even if we continue with unhealthy habits, having personal interactions can enhance our health and our lives.
Being part of community can come in different forms other than having a large family, you may just have to try a little harder. Try just taking things we do daily and changing them into activities that will enlarge our community.
Join local clubs and groups to get to know people outside of your normal circle of friends and to take an active part in the area you live in. By doing things like this, you are forming the personal ties that are necessary to life.
However, it is important to understand that spending time by yourself is still very important as it generates internal reflection in understanding who we are as people. But unless we maintain the very important family or community ties like a well-oiled machine, we run the risk of becoming unhealthy and shortening our lives.
Just like eating nutritious meals and staying active, I encourage everyone to include personal relationships in order to maintain a healthy life.
I enjoy sharing with you my natural alternative health programs. They involve easy to implement exercises and can be done with someone you love who might be struggling with certain health issues. Please check them out on my blog on the right hand side.
EL331003 - 28385