Module 6 Learning Activities


15 points

No bird flies too high
if he flies with his own wings

William Blake


Read: Weight-loss Diets Don't Work
Read: Sensible Weight Management
Read: Movement for Health
Read: Physical Activity and Health...from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Read: Physical Activity Among College Students

Respond to the questions below. Submit your responses to the Instructor. Each correct response is worth one point. Add relevant links to your Health 1 Bookmarks/Favorites folder.

1. Weight issues are discussed in terms of the Body Mass Index, abbreviated BMI, which is a number between 17 and 40 that gauges body weight in proportion to body height. For most American adults,

Depending on body stature, age, inheritance factors, and exercise patterns, some people in the underweight, overweight, and obese categories are healthy.

The BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by her or his height in meters, squared (BMI = wgt/(hgt)(hgt). What is your Body Mass Index? Do the calculation or use this online calculator. If you do the calculation, use the value for your height in meters; divide your height in inches by 39. Use the value for your weight in kilograms; divide your weight in pounds by 2.2.

2. Many people believe that overweight and obesity are problematic because they make a person socially unattractive. This is the least of it. Overweight and obesity contribute to a variety of health problems, some of them potentially fatal. List five health problems associated with obesity.

3. Sandra wants to know if she is overweight. Which of the following is the LEAST reliable way for her to do that? Explain your reasoning.
A. calculating her body mass index
B. using life insurance tables of weight-for-height
C. comparing her body shape to an apple or a pear
D. comparing her body shape to women on the cover of Shape magazine
E. measuring her waist-to-hip ratio

4. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists community-wide steps to help prevent and decrease overweight and obesity. Which two steps from the list do you think are most important? Explain your choices.

5. Read this material on Childhood Overweight and Obesity and respond to these questions:
5A. What percentage of American children are classified as overweight/obese
5B. List three adverse health consequences of childhood overweight
5C. In your opinion, what two suggestions to reduce the degree of childhood overweight/obesity are best?

6A. What did you have for a snack or dessert yesterday? Use the US Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database, some other calorie counter, or the product label to determine how many calories it contributed to your diet.
6B. A person uses about 4 calories to fuel 1 minute of walking. How many MINUTES of walking are required to utilize the calories in your snack or dessert?

7. Jack has decided to lose 20 pounds by replacing his daily soda at lunch with water, thus eliminating about 150 calories from his diet, and walking his dog for 45 minutes a day, thus expending about 180 calories more than usual. There are 3500 calories in a pound of body fat. If Jack is faithful to his plan of decreasing soda intake and increasing exercise, approximately how many pounds will he lose in a month? How long will it take Jack to reach his goal weight?

8. It's springtime, and Merilee is about to embark on her annual ritual of starving herself to lose weight so she can fit into her bikini. Read Weight-loss Diets Don't Work and explain why Merilee's calorie-restriction weight-loss program fails each year.

9. Describe the 8 components of sensible weight maintenance

10. Describe these eating disorders:
A. Anorexia nervosa
B. Bulimia.
C. Binge eating disorder.

11. Everyone knows that physical activity is good for health. But why? Read Physical Activity and Health.
11A. For you personally, which are the 5 most important reasons for physical activity?
11B. What kinds of physical activity do you currently engage in and for how many minutes a week?
Note that physical activity is anything you do when you are not sitting or lying down, from clicking your computer's mouse to running a marathon

12. Physical activity is scientifically defined in terms of the amount of energy expended to produce movement. Read How much physical activity do adults need?.
12A. What is the difference between light, moderate, and vigorous intensity physical activity? Which kind of activity fits best into your life right now?
12B. Define relative intensity in terms of the "talk test," absolute intensity in terms of energy utilized per minute, and target heart rate intensity. Calculate your target heart rate for moderate intensity activity.

13. A daily brisk walk of 30-60 minutes can significantly improve health. Read: Mayo Clinic on Walking . List five benefits of walking.

14. Read What is a heart attack? Which of the following is a cause of heart attack?
A. a viral infection of pericardium
B. a slowing of the heart rate (pulse) from consuming too much dietary fat
C. the failure of coronary arteries to deliver sufficient oxygenated blood to the heart
D. the inability of varicose veins to transport oxygen-deficient blood from body tissues to the heart

15. Read High blood pressure.
15A. Describe the relationship between high blood pressure and heart disease?
15B. A man gets his blood pressure checked. The results show that he has high blood pressure. What values indicate that blood pressure is high?