May 20, 2013

Lifestyle Changes Affecting Health

There was a time many decades back when people were expected to rise early in the morning, do some work during the daylight hours, and retire to bed early in the night, so that they can get up early again the next morning. This lifestyle allowed people to enjoy a reasonably good state of health, since they were more aligned with the forces of nature. With increasing industrialization and globalization, the barriers to global businesses have been either removed or greatly reduced. With the advent of computers and the internet, the lifestyle of humans has perhaps changed for ever. The internet allows people to work in any time-zone. Demands of business and work are no more linked to sunrise, and the focus has now shifted to working 24×7. People work for longer hours each day, or work in shifts at all times of day or night.

More stringent work requirements have also created an increased dependence on all imaginable items of comfort in all environments of office, home, or while in transit. These comforts have created a sedentary lifestyle where people are not expected to physically exert themselves while they focus on meeting their work targets.
All this has adversely affected the biological cycles of most people. A new breed of lifestyle diseases have emerged, like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, obesity, and many others. Even people of younger ages are being increasingly afflicted with such diseases. Very few people exercise regularly or have proper meals. In addition, easy availability of liquor in many regions, even to younger people, has further aggravated the problem.

Traditions Bind A Society

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Image by frankartculinary via Flickr

Each region in the world has its own society. Each society has its own traditions, customs, and beliefs. People in each society identify themselves with their own communities through several aspects like language, color, clothing, food and eating habits, attitude, behavior, and all other factors of their existence. Traditions are passed down through generations. It can be seen that the older a society, the stronger are its traditions.

People of all societies take pride in their traditions. They feel a sense of belonging while in the midst of their own kind, where a common set of traditions are followed by all. This ensures a high level of comfort in the daily lives of people, as well as provides a sense of security where all people in the society live by a common set of rules. Law and order is thus also ensured through this process.

When members of one society interfaces or interacts with another society, it becomes necessary for members of both societies to understand the traditions of the other society. With a good deal of understanding of each other’s traditions, values and beliefs, it becomes easy to deal with each other in a peaceful manner. The outcome of such dealings can generally be expected to be beneficial to both societies.

However, if the societies do not understand the traditions of each other, and thoughtlessly interact, it can often result in conflicts, which might take long to resolve, and also result in losses to both sides. Traditions have thus an important role to play in the peaceful existence of people in any region.