Generation+'Y+ME+?

** Name: Anne Poulsen ** ** Student number: N8429332 ** ** Tutor: Judith Meiklejohn **

//“The way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not. “// Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist, writer, and lecturer.

 =TOPIC = How healthy is Gen Y? What are the key public health issues facing this generation, and what are the driving social and cultural forces behind these issues?

=ARTEFACT = = =

The picture expresses two ofthe major health risk behaviours – drinking and smoking.Risk behaviours that often are established in youth. Moreover, the picture sends a striking message, as it has a great deal of ambiguity and inappropriateness within it. It depicts on the one hand society and conformity in the form of a schoolgirl in her uniform, and on the other hand a rebellions element in the form of the drink and the cigarette she is holding in her hands.

 =PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE = Exposure to tobacco or alcohol and high body mass have been identified as three of the main risk factors contributing to the burden of disease and injury within Australia (ABS, 2009). Exposure to tobacco, accounting for 7.8% of the total burden, was strongly linked with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischaemic heart disease. Alcohol harm was responsible for 3.2% of the total burden of disease and injury and accounted for the greatest amount of burden specifically for males under the age of 45 years. Alcohol abuse, road traffic accidents and suicide made up two thirds of the harm attributed to alcohol (ABS, 2009). High body mass accounted for 7.5% of the total burden, with type 2 diabetes and ischaemic heart disease as major contributors to this. These three risk factors will be the parameters used for the discussion on how healthy generation Y is and in outlining the changes from generation X to generation Y.

=LITERATURE REVIEW = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1946). Health is an important part of wellbeing and of how people feel and function. There are degrees of good health as well as of bad health, and the health issues facing the current generation Y therefore have to be addressed in a broad social context. Generation Y of Australia is facing some health issues related to the predominant western lifestyle with a high focus on fast choices, low physical activity and foods high in salt and sugar (AIHW, 2008). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It is a general trend that the world population has faced a higher and higher BMI over the last 15 years (WHO, 2011, A). According to The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, childhood overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions and are major public health problems nationally and globally (Institute of Medicine, 2005). Between 1970 and 2004, the prevalence of overweight among U.S. preschoolers and adolescents almost triples (Institute of Medicine, 2005), and the same development is present in Australia, but however not at such a high multitudes (AIHW, 2008). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">When looking at the statistics on obesity and overweight rates for the young generation (15-19 year olds) of Australia from 1995- 2004-05, rates of overweight and obesity have increased significantly since 1995. It is especially when looking at the group of people categorised as overweight that the numbers have increased with high multitude. 18% (200,000 teenagers) of 15–19 years olds were overweight but not obese in 2004-2005 and the rate was higher among males than females. In 1995 15 % were classified as overweight. (AIHW, 2008). These statistics demonstrate that there has been an increase in obesity and especially in overweight rates when comparing generation X with generation Y, indicating a deteriorating health status. Obesity is a significant health problem as it has several comorbiditys such as; hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">According to the WHO, tobacco use is one of the main risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, “including cancer, lung diseases, and cardiovascular diseases” (WHO, B, 2011). When addressing the differences in tobacco use over time within Australia, it is clear that as awareness of the negative impacts of smoking has increased, the proportion of people who smoke has declined, since smoking was included in the National Health survey in 1989-90 (ABS, 2009). The decline constitutes a decrease by 24 % over the 18-year period the National Health Survey has run for (ABS, 2009). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">People in their teens may take up smoking as part of a social activity that is perceived to be well suited to their youth culture and allows them to better fit in with or rebel against friends or family (Tilleczek K. and Hine D., 2006). According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009), people who started smoking daily at a young age were less likely than others to reduce their frequency of smoking or to quit smoking completely. The National Health Survey showed positive statistics when demonstrating a large decrease in smoking rates from 1989-90 to 2007-08 in the 18-24 year age bracket. The smoking rates decreased with 33, 3 % for males and 39 % for females, accompanied by a rise in those who had never smoked in the 18-24 year age bracket, with 55% to 64 % for males and 52% to 65 % for women (ABS, 2009). Even though these statistics demonstrate improvement in tobacco smoking rates from gen x to gen y, it is sill of foremost importance to prevent young people from start smoking. As tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for: “coronary heart disease,stroke,peripheral vascular disease, numerous cancers, including cancers of the lung, mouth, oesophagus, larynx, kidney, pancreas, bladder, stomach and cervix, and other diseases and conditions” (AIHW,2011)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The harmful use of alcohol is a global problem, which compromises both individual and social development (WHO, 2011, C). Many Australians drink alcohol on a regular basis. However, excessive consumption can cause serious harm, and the past decade has seen an increase in community awareness of this problem (Preventative Health Taskforce, 2008 p.2). A national study by Tanya N Chikritzhs et al. (2011) estimates the national trend in per capita consumption (PPC) of alcohol for Australians aged 15 years and older for the financial years 1990–91 to 2008–09. The research showed that Australia’s total PPC has increased significantly over time, mainly due to the gradual increase in the alcohol content and market share of wine. The per capita consumption in litres have increased from approximately 9,6 litres in 1990-91 to 10,2 litres in 2008-2009. Furthermore, Australian bureau of statistics (2011) back the findings of this study up with similar findings in their study of apparent consumption of alcohol from 1960 -2010. Over the past 50 years, the level of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages has changed substantially; in particular, the proportion of pure alcohol available for consumption in the form of beer has decreased (from 76% to 43%), while the proportions of wine have increased from 12% to 37% and spirits from 12% to 19% (ABS, 2011). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">These statistics show an increase alcohol consumption from generation X to generation Y. However, it is not just the total amount of alcohol consumed that has changed - what we drink has also changed. Alcohol with higher alcohol content, such as wine and spirits, has become more popular, and the consumption of beer has decreased (ABS, 2011), (Tanya N Chikritzhs et al., 2011). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Alcohol is a significant public health issue as it has far-reaching consequences on one’s life, family and community. According to Commonwealth (2010), alcohol is involved in “62 % of all police attendances, 73 % of assaults, 77 % of street offences, 40 % of domestic violence incidents, and 90 % of late-night calls to police” (Commonwealth, 2010, p.24). Furthermore, The Council of Australian Governments has identified reducing alcohol and substance abuse and its impact on families, safety and community wellbeing as a priority area for the 2008 forward work plan (COAG 2007. Communiqué. 20 December meeting).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Generation Y have been consumers since birth and are believed to be the most technological advanced and globally minded generation. The term generation Y first appeared in the August 1993 issue of AD Age magazine (Bradley Johnson, 2010). It was used to describe children born between 1980 and 1995 (Bradley Johnson, 2010), the offspring of the baby boomers. Generation X is defined as those born between the 1960’s and the early 1980’s (Wilcox, D.L. et.al, 2011). They are heavy users of new media and grew up in a time of relentless social, economic and technological changes. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">As previously mentioned, the concepts of generation X and Y are mainly used in connection to public relations and consumer behaviour, with the belief that every generation is shaped by the cultural and political events of its time. E.g. Wilcox, D.L. et.al (2011) argue that generation X will, due to their predisposition to novel technological innovation, be more likely to be interested in purchasing a revolutionary automobile during the first model year than the boomers or generation Y would (Wilcox, D.L. et.al, 2011, p.172).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">When applying this thought, adapted from the business world, that a whole generation will follow a certain pattern due to cultural and societal norms, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim, the founder of functionalism asserts oneself (Mustafa Emirbayer, 2003). Emile Durkheim emphasises the power that structures hold within a society rather than the agency, and he argued that people often simply follow patterns that are general to their society (Mustafa Emirbayer, 2003).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">How does this apply on the health problems and improvements that gen y have experienced in comparison to gen x? In connection to smoking, research shows that tobacco advertising is associated with an increase in overall tobacco consumption (US Surgeon General, 2000). Based on an analysis of tobacco use before and after the introduction of advertising bans within Australia, it is estimated that comprehensive advertising bans reduced smoking initiation by 6 percent and smoking prevalence by 4 percent (the cancer council, 2011).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">According to Jeannine Coreil (2010) generation Y have been growing up in a high-consumption capitalist economy, where they are exposed to a constant flow of marketing messages. According to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, youth exposure to alcohol advertising on U.S. television has increased 71 % between 2001 and 2009. Even though these are statistics are from the state, the tendency is still applicable to Australia. This huge increase in exposure to alcohol advertising could be one of the constituting factors of the increase in alcohol consumption rate ( Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, 2009)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">In connection to the increasing rates of overweight and obesity one of the hasten factors is the obesogenic environment (Swinburn, B., 1999). An obesogenic environment refers to conditions that lead people to become excessively fat, and it is characterized by an unlimited supply of convenient, relatively inexpensive and energy-dense foods, which is pushing the energy balance in the wrong direction towards enhanced energy intake (O. Hill & Peters, 1998). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The causes of the problems are mainly social causes, such as sedentary work and family life, the results of our current lifestyle, including eating high amounts of pre-prepared meals that contain excessive sugar and fats.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> =<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">ANALYSIS OF THE ARTEFACT AND LEARNING REFLECTIONS = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Youth is an important period for the development of lifelong behaviours. Casual smoking and drinking during adolescence, is a behaviour that may seem innocent when drinking and smoking with friends at parties, but it may lead to lifelong addictions. People in their teens may take up unhealthy health behaviours such as smoking and consumption of alcohol for many reasons, such as to fit in with peers, or because they want to experiment, or as part of a social activity that is perceived to be well suited to their youth culture. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">All generations will have their individual traits and key issues, but despite the different time periods and different cultural events that have shaped ones generation – will youth and the process of finding oneself not always mean engaging in some kind of risk or ‘bad’ behavior? If we ask Socrates, the answer is yes. “Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.” Socrates 400 B.C.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Mark Twain(1835-1910) U.S. humorist, writer, and lecturer.

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