Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Society's Unfair Bias Towards People Who Are Taller Than Average


The term, 'heightism' literally sets in a new form of bias against the 'not-so-tall amongst us. Be it business, politics, sports or seeking a date, it looks like 'being tall' does edge a score.
U.S. President Barack Obama at 6'1" is a towering personality and is definitely in line with past American presidents too! First president, George Washington stood tall at 6'2", with Bill Clinton closer at 6'2 ½". Abraham Lincoln at 6'4" edged better than President Jackson at 6'1".
Political studies have re-sounded the tall appeal and observed that during 1904-1984, 80 % of the cases saw the taller candidate being preferred in run up to U.S. presidential elections. However, Napoleon Bonaparte's achievements have by no means taken way his accolades, short or not!
Setting aside business acumen, it has been noted that taller MBA recruits had a greater chance of raking in a starting salary that was 12.4% more than their shorter counterparts. A 2003 joint research by the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina observed that an extra inch in height was equivalent to earning an additional $789 dollars annually!
A 1980 survey has shown that chief executives of America's Fortune 500 companies more or less stood close to six feet or were taller. The study concludes that about 90% of chief executives have above-average heights.
Studies have shown that women favor taller men. The quest for a suitable life-partner or the ideal date too gets bogged down to height. Collective studies in the past have recognized that women are partial to tall men. A study in fact checked on 100 women to rate men based on photographs. Almost all the women found the taller men significantly more attractive.
American sports have been dominated by taller and bigger sportsmen which has pushed athletes with short stature to succumb to the artificial growth hormone panacea. The 'Incredible Hulk' image seems to have belittled all! The abuse of steroids in sports is yet another Pandora's Box which could open up links to being short!
Intervention of medical science by way of Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Treatment for healthy and short children have triggered a booming lifestyle industry that tries to gain from the challenges of societal prejudices against short children.
The 2003 Federal Drug Administration's approval of hGH for making healthy and short children taller is considered medically ethical. But, is it moral to create patients out of healthy kids and inject them with hormones just so, they stay in line with so-called societal norms of tallness charts?
An observation of other professions also showed the dominance of tall people in most walks of life, both educational and socio-economic. Psychologist Timothy Judge from the University of Florida has linked his observations of a tall stature to ancient civilization. Tall people were seen to be more capable of protecting their tribes and were perceived to have better leadership qualities, a thought that seems to have prevailed in the last millennium too!
America's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has legal protection for individuals suffering from dwarfism which is considered a disability in society. But, prejudice against short men legally or socially is yet to be defined by society. This leaves many gaps for stories untold or commissions to be formed for a collective anti-discrimination law. The absence of such legal or social dictum has caused shorter men to succumb to their fates!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Health Checks


The benefits of periodic health checks
In conjunction with eating healthy and having regular exercise, a regular health check with your GP allows you to stay on top of your health matters.
What are health checks? And why do we need them?
Well firstly, plan to see your GP once every 3 months, whether you have a concern or not, this way you can keep a peace of mind, and enjoy your life knowing that you are fit and healthy.
Often people never know when they have contracted a particular disease, virus, bug etc... Regular visits to your doctor means that you can identify and address any issue that otherwise might have gone undiagnosed by you.
With respect to health checks, one thing to consider with reference to women's health is that the female specie has a completely different physiological development. In most cases, these health issues relate to the female genitalia and the breasts or in some cases issues brought out by hormonal changes in the female body. Remember it is very common that women develop thrush, or breast cancer, and or ovarian cancer, so it is imperative to keep a tab on all health checkups provided.
Among other issues, women should discuss or address the following with their physician; menstruation, contraception, maternal health, child birth, menopause and breast cancer. These health issues can also relate to non-hormonal causes or problems not directly related to the biology of females.
Periodic health checks are particularly important for teenagers; particularly once the individual is sexually active. Reaching puberty can suddenly kick start hormonal changes and urges that often are misunderstood by teenage girls. Teenage sexual health is an important aspect of teenage life, and certain advices are given to help teenagers have a healthier life. Your GP will have invaluable advice pertaining to safe sex, contraception, and understanding the physiological changes that are brought on by puberty.
Talking to your parents about topics pertaining to sex (seeing as they were once teenagers too) is, though not easy, is almost certainly very useful. Try to discuss sexual matters with your partner even, if you are sexually active, your girlfriends and close family.
Making sure that you have all the information you require to understand your health matters is paramount.
Periodic health checks can help you, learn about different options available to you for example contraception, how to get tested for any sexually transmitted diseases, how to get your partner tested for STIs and how to check for STI's plus much more.
STI clinics exist for those who are willing to get tested, and also for those that are looking for answers to certain questions. STI clinics offer services like testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs); advice about sexual health; free condoms; contraception, including emergency contraception such as the morning-after pill; HIV testing, including rapid tests that give results in about 30 minutes and counselling HIV positive people.
Remember, a healthy body means a healthy mind, and a prosperous life.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Osteoarthritis and Its Biochemic Treatment


Joint pain is a common complaint. It is often associated with aging process. However, it can also occur in children, young adults and middle-aged people. Arthritis is not a disease but a symptom, which indicates that "something", is wrong in a joint. Arthritis occurs at all ages but is more common in the elderly. It is least serious among the elderly while it can be serious, crippling and sometimes even life threatening in young women and children. Of the various types of arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the most common. Today we will discuss about osteoarthritis.
What is osteoarthritis? 
Osteoarthritis is destruction of the smooth cartilage covering the ends of the bones. This destruction is similar to the - wear and tear of moving machines. Over time the cartilage may wear away entirely, and the bones will rub together and in that stage may cause severe aching pain. It usually starts in the middle age without any specific cause. It may affect all joints but mainly the knee joint,elbow joint, hip joint. Of the joint pains, pain in the knee joint is the most common.

Osteoarthritis of knee joints 
In early stages there is pain or catch in the knee while getting up from sitting position or changing position of the knee after a period of rest in one position. In later stages, pain is almost constant and becomes worse. On exertion at this stage rest; painkiller medicines; or oil massage relieves the pain. In advanced stage, walking is difficult and often needs a lot of effort. Going up and down the stairs is especially very difficult. The shape of the leg changes and the knee bows outwards. At this stage, the gait changes and there may be sideways lurch at every step.

What are the causes of osteoarthritis? 
Common causes of osteoarthritis are: Wear-and-tear of cartilage due to prolonged use of the joint (This is the commonest cause of osteoarthritis); Defect in quality of the cartilage such as in a disease called pseudogout; Defect in alignment of the articulating surfaces; Loose structures inside the joint such as a loose cover of the meniscus; Old injury; and Previous infection. Excess Weight is one of the main causes of osteoarthritis. Excess weight puts extra stress on the weight-bearing joints, especially the knees and hips and quickens the wear-and-tear of the cartilage. If you already haveosteoarthritis, losing weight may reduce stress on your joints.

Symptoms: 
1. Aching pain, stiffness and swelling of the joints. 
2. Stiffness aggravates after rest and ameliorates by moderate movement. 
3. Extensive movement of the joint worsens the condition. 
4. Most people with osteoarthritis in knee joint complain of pain and/or creaking sound in the knee.

Traditional treatment: 
Osteoarthritis is not curable. Once it starts, it remains for rest of the life. Painkillers are given to relieve pain; however, it does not reduce inflammation. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a type of medication that help reduce pain and swelling at different doses. Cortisone may be injected into the joint to relieve severe inflammation. Cortisone is a steroid that reduces swelling as well.

Biochemic Treatment: 
There is very good treatment option of osteoarthritis in Biochemic Therapy. Biochemic medicines are efficient enough to control the inflammation, swelling and pains and can control the disease in a natural way. Biochemic medicines are nothing but mineral salts found in our tissues. That is why there is no side effect of Biochemic medicines at all.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Dedicating Yourself to Get Into Shape!


Getting into shape requires a serious commitment and a lot of hard work. Nobody says it's easy, but if you have a plan and stick to it then anything is possible. Continue on to the article below and learn about some helpful ways to get yourself into shape.
The first step to getting into shape should be figuring out the reasons why you want to get in shape. Write down a list of all the positives you can think and what is causing you to want to get fit. Do you just want to eat healthier or are you looking for an overall fitness plan that incorporates both healthy eating coupled with exercise?
Next, you want to set goals for yourself. Whether it's losing five pounds or thirty, have some goals so you know what you're striving to achieve. Chart your progress each week and see how far along you are and what you need to do in order to get where you want to be. This tells you if you need to step it up or if you are on track to meet your fitness goals.
Educate yourself on all the different exercises you can do. For one thing, you want to exercise properly otherwise you run the risk of getting injured. If that happens then it becomes a major setback. Go online or get yourself some fitness books that will teach you about exercises and also will show you a nutrition plan to follow.
Organize your fitness routine. A person who is organized is more likely to follow the plan that is set forth. So maintain a journal with a set schedule to follow and write down notes each day as you follow your fitness regimen. When you put your plan to paper you are more likely to stick to it.
Grab a buddy and go workout with them. Studies show that people are more dedicated to their fitness routine when they have a friendly voice pushing them to do better. It also becomes fun with a partner and you can make it a bit of challenge where you and your buddy chart each others progress. Also whats great about having a workout partner is on the days where you aren't "feeling it," you have someone there who can push you to keep going.
Never give up. Getting fit requires hard work and dedication. Just like most things in life, getting fit will not come easy, but it is worth it! So think of how you want to look and keep pushing through until you achieve your goals. Then once you get there, it becomes easier because you see what getting into shape does for your overall health and appearance.
As you can see from the above article, there are a lot of simple ways that will make it easier for you to get into shape. It's not easy, but if you stick to it and have a positive attitude then nothing should stop you from reaching your fitness goals.
As you can see from the above article, there are a lot of simple ways that will make it easier for you to get into shape. It's not easy, but if you stick to it and have a positive attitude then nothing should stop you from reaching your fitness goals.