Family Health Analysis Paper

Family Health History Analysis After Looking over my family’s health history and the most common health problems that run in my family and looking at my current health status I was very surprised to find that the most common things were hypothyroidism, obesity and skin cancer. Those three conditions are what I may have to deal with in my future if I do not change my current lifestyle habits. Hypothyroidism is a condition that most of my female family members suffer from this condition in which it resulted in removal of their thyroids and taking an artificial hormone pill every day to compensate. Obesity is a problem that nearly everyone in my family suffers from even myself. Skin cancer is another common problem in my family the main reason
for skin cancer is the lack of UV protection. The three most common health problems that I would most like to avoid would be obesity, skin cancer and hypothyroidism.
I would like to avoid obesity because of the major consequences that come along with being obese like, early death, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, excessive sweating, kidney problems, and arthritis (pg. 124). Tips that I can do to lose weight are, focus on becoming healthy for yourself not what the media portrays as “healthy”, set realistic goals, listen to your body and only eat when you actually feel hungry and don’t over eat, eat healthy foods, and exercise at least 20 mins per day 3 times a week and avoid mindless snacking, consume little alcohol, be aware or eating triggers, and don’t eat your feelings. Skin Cancer is a problem that I can avoid by wearing sunscreen, sunglasses, protective clothing, avoiding tanning beds, applying the A,B,C,D,E rule to all moles that appear, and get regular health checks. There is not much that I can do to necessarily prevent getting hypothyroidism but maintain a healthy active lifestyle will be my best help in hopes to avoid this
problem.
The suggestions that I have found in the book for helping me to prevent the most common health conditions that run in my family are for the most part easily maintainable.
One suggestion that I think will be the most difficult to adapt into my current lifestyle is to stop mindless eating. I often catch myself eating a bag of chips, cookies, or candy while studying or watching T.V and not even feel hungry. To make this change I will have to get rid of all of the snacks/ junk food in my house and replace those with healthy options like, Greek yogurt, carrots, celery, and whole wheat crackers or simply do not eat anything if I do not actually feel hungry. When it comes to protecting your skin from U.V ray’s I am good about always putting on sunscreen while spending the day at the lake, I do not use sunscreen during my daily routine and I need to get into the habit of making that happen. I can make his happen by buying makeups that contain an SPF or putting and SPF on before I apply my
makeup. This health history project has been very informative and has shown me the importance of being healthy by making me learn about my family and their health habits and history this has inspired me to talk to my parents about what I have learned and teach them about the consequences of being overweight and what they can do to become healthier so that they can potentially live longer. In addition to that I have also learned about what health conditions I am prone to inherit while showing me the consequences of not preventing the health problems that are in my control. Even though there are some conditions that I am unable to prevent like hypothyroidism I can still make and effort slow the onset of hypothyroidism by being healthy and active. I always knew that it was bad to be overweight and it wasn’t good for you but I had no idea that it affects almost everything from your heart to simply excessive sweating.