GHEW 183: Health and Wellness

Notes
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO WELLNESS

 Wellness is the expanded idea of health that is optimal

health and vitality, encompassing physical, emotional,
intellectual, spiritual, social and environmental wellbeing.
(6)
 Physical Activity is the bodily movement produced by
skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure and
produces progressive health benefits.
 Exercise is a type of physical activity that is planned and
structured with the intent of improving or maintaining
physical activity.
 To produce health benefits, the intensity, duration, and
frequency of activity is less than that required to produce
improved fitness.
 Improved fitness is measured by how much exercise you
can do.
 Improved health is measured by improved physiologic
function of body systems.
 Diseases caused by insufficient physical activity, often in
conjunction with inappropriate dietary practices.
Examples:
 Hypertension (high blood pressure)
 Heart Disease
 Chronic Low Back Pain
  Overweight/Obesity
 Type II Diabetes
 The average life expectancy is about 77.6 years. (69.3 years
healthy and 8.1 years unhealthy).
 The life expectancy among Saudi men is estimated at 74
years and among women it is 77 years.

 Three priority areas for good health:

 Physical activity
 Nutrition
 Stress Management
 Reasons why these lifestyles are especially critical:
 affect the lives of all people
 can make improvements
 small changes can have a major impact on
individual and public health
 Health-related fitness includes:
 Cardiovascular endurance
 Muscular strength
 Muscular endurance
 Flexibility
 Body composition
 Skill-related fitness includes:
 Agility – is the ability to rapidly and accurately
change the direction of movement of the entire body
(e.g.: skiing and wrestling)
  Balance – is the maintenance of equilibrium while
stationary or while moving (e.g.: Water skiing and
performing on a beam)
 Coordination – is the ability to use the senses with
the body parts to perform motor tasks smoothly and
accurately (e.g.: juggling and hitting a golf ball)
 Speed – is the ability to perform a movement in a
short period of time (e.g.: runner on a track team and
a wide receiver on a football team)
 Power – is the ability to transfer energy into force at
a fast rate (e.g.: throwing the discus and putting the
shot)
 Reaction Time – is the time elapsed between
simulation and the beginning of reaction to that
stimulation (e.g.: driving a racing car and starting a
sprint race)

Why do we need fitness?

1. To be effective at work
2. To have good health
3. To face emergencies
4. To improve the quality of our life
Value of fitness:
1. Look good
2. Feel good
3. Enjoy life
4. Be healthy
  Wellness is the positive component of good health and
include different dimensions.
Dimensions of Wellness:
1. Intellectual Wellness – is the ability to open your
mind to new ideas and experiences, improve your
skills and seek challenges (e.g.: read a book, attend
useful workshops, study abroad …)
2. Social Wellness – is the ability to successfully
interact with people in our world, participating in and
feeling connected to your community. (e.g.: attend
athletic events, donate blood, join a club, volunteer,
organize/participate.)
3. Physical Wellness – is the ability to maintain a
healthy quality of life that allows us to get through
our daily activities without undue fatigue or physical
stress (e.g.: exercise regularly, sleep well, eat
vegetables & fruits daily, use protective equipment)
4. Spiritual Wellness – is the ability to establish peace
and harmony in our lives (e.g.: performing Umrah)
5. Emotional Wellness – is the ability to understand
ourselves and adequately cope with the challenge’s
life brings. (e.g.: getting together with friends,
develop an optimistic attitude, seek and provide
help)
6. Environmental Wellness: is the awareness of the
unstable state of the Earth and the effects of you
daily habits on the physical environment (e.g.:
 reduce, reuse, recycle, bike/walk, participate in
cleanup activities)
7. Occupational Wellness – is the ability to perform
one’s job skillfully and effectively under conditions
that provide personal and team satisfaction and
adequately reward each individual.
Depressed Emotional - Happy
Mental
Ignorant Intellectual Informed
Unfit Physical Fit
Lonely Social Involved
Frustrated Spiritual Fulfilled
Negative Total Outlook Positive

Other Factors Play Role in Health and Wellness

1. Genetic Background – some people might be more
predisposed to diseases or problems than others
2. Society – people raised in different environments,
some are more/less helpful to high level of health and
wellness than others
3. Health care – people have limited or no access to
health care, which affects their ability to get help when
sick
4. Gender – men and women have different life
expectancies and different incidences of certain
diseases
5. Ethnicity – different ethnic traditions can affect levels
of wellness
 6. Income and Education – people with lower incomes
and lower levels of education have higher rates of
injuries and are more likely to engage in unhealthy
behaviors
Behaviors that contribute to wellness:
1. Physical Activity
2. Healthy Diet
3. Healthy Body Weight
4. Avoid tobacco / drug use
5. Limit alcohol consumption
6. Protect yourself from diseases and injuries
7. Managing Stress
8. Avoid destructive habits
9. Adopt safety habits
10. Learning first aid
11. Adopt good personal health habits
12. Seeking and complying medical advice
13. Being an informed customer
14. Protecting the environment
Benefits of Physical Activity:
1. Increased endurance, strength and flexibility
2. Healthier muscles, bones and joints
3. Increased energy expenditure
4. Improved body composition
5. More energy
6. Improved ability to cope with stress
 7. Improved mood, greater self-esteem, greater sense of
wellbeing
8. Improved sleep
9. Reduced risk of dying prematurely
10. Reduced risk of having heart-related problems
11. Reduced risk of colon cancer
12. Reduced risk of becoming obese
13. Reduced anxiety, tension and depression
14. Reduced spending on healthcare

 Cigarette smoking leads to increased risk of lung cancer

 More time spent watching TV leads to increased risk of
obesity and diabetes
 Low intake of fruits and vegetables leads to increased risk of
heart disease
 Few healthy behaviors lead to increased risk of heart disease
 CHAPTER 2: CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS
 Cardiovascular Fitness is the ability of the heart, lungs,
and blood vessels to function efficiently when a person
exercises and to supply oxygen and nutrients to the muscles
 Importance of Cardiovascular Fitness:
1. Increases the energy level
2. helps you feel and look good
3. creates body fat loss
4. helps with stress reduction
5. improves health
6. can extend lifespan
7. clears fats from the bloodstream
8. forms more arteries in the heart
9. lowers the chance of atherosclerosis
10. strengthens the heart muscle
11. decreases the risk of heart disease or stoke
12. improves self-concept
 A high level of fitness means that you have a healthy
cardiovascular system
 Regular physical activity benefits: the cardiovascular
system and the respiratory system
 Cardiovascular System:
 consists of the heart, blood and blood vessels
 a heart that pumps efficiently
 blood that carries oxygen to tissues effectively
 unclogged blood vessels that allow for effective
delivery of oxygen
  Respiratory System:
 includes lungs, air passages that bring air
 Inside the lungs, oxygen enters the blood while
the carbon dioxide is eliminated
 Arteries and Veins:
 blood picks up oxygen from the lungs and carries
it to the heart
 heart transports the blood around the body
 lungs oxygenate the blood and remove the carbo
dioxide
 The left side of the heart forces oxygenated blood away
from the heart and into the body through arteries.
 The veins carry deoxygenated blood back into the right
side of the heart
 Capillaries serve as bridges between the arteries and veins
Cardiovascular Diseases
 It includes the diseases that affect the heart
 Two common conditions related to cardiovascular disease
include:
 Atherosclerosis (plaque build-up around the
arteries).
 Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).  
They both can lead to heart attack or stroke .
  A heart attack occurs when the blood supply into or within
the heart is cut off or reduced.
 Cardiovascular disease is affected by non-modifiable and
modifiable risk factors.  
 Non-modifiable risk factors (risk factors you
cannot change) including your age, gender, and
heredity. As you get older, your risk for heart
disease increases. Men have a higher risk that
women.
 Modifiable risk factors: are the things you can
change. This includes things like smoking, stress,
diet and physical inactivity. Individuals who
smoke are at higher risk of heart disease than non-
smokers. People who are chronically stressed are
also at higher risk of heart disease than those who
are less stressed. Lastly, individuals who are not
physically active and/or obese, are at higher risk of
heart disease than those who are active and have a
healthy body fat percentage.
 Risk Factors for Developing Cardiovascular Disease :
 Inactivity
 Smoking
 Obesity
 Poor Diet
 High Stress
 High Blood Pressure
 Age (I can’t control)
 Heredity(I can’t control)
  Gender (I can’t control)
 Cholesterol is a waxy substance in the blood . The body
needs cholesterol to function.
 Sources of cholesterol : animal products (meat , eggs , and
whole milk dairy products )
 If the level of cholesterol increases , it can stick to artery
walls and cause serious health problems .
 Optimal values for total cholesterol : 200 mg/dl
 Two types of cholesterol :
 Low-density lipoproteins – bad cholesterol
because they contribute to plague build up the
blood vessels (atherosclerosis) . In order to lower
cholesterol , lower the intake of saturated fats and
increase physical activity
 High-density lipoproteins – good cholesterol
because they are responsible for carrying excess
harmful cholesterol out of the bloodstream into the
liver for disposal . In order to increase HDL ,
aerobic exercise and healthy diet

 Ways to monitor you heart :

1. Blood pressure – is the force of blood against the
artery walls (normal bp is 120/80)
2. heart rate – is the pressure of blood on the artery wall
due to heartbeat (70 for adults and 100 for children)
 3. resting heart rate – is the number of times your heart
beats per minute at rest
4. recovery heart rate – is the heart rate or pulse after
exercise
 Systolic is the higher (120) . This is when the heart is
contraction to pump blood
 Diastolic is the lower (80) . This is when the heart is refilling
or relaxing between beats
Training Principles : The FITT Formula
1. Frequency - is the number of times per week
you workout
2. Intensity – is how hard to exercise
3. Time – is the exercise duration
4. Type – type of exercise (Aerobic vs Anaerobic
Exercise)
 Target Heart Rate Zone is 60-90% of your maximum
heart rate.
 It is the how many beats per minute your heart should be
beating while exercising
 Calculating it :
1. Finding the maximum heart rate : 220-age
2. Calculate the Lower Limit (60% or 70%) and
Upper Limit (90%)
3. Maximum heart rate should not exceed 220 –
Age
Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercise  
 Anaerobic exercise is exercise, performed in
short or fast bursts in which the heart cannot
supply oxygen as fast as muscles use it. (e.g. :
sprinting , playing volleyball , weight lifting )
 Aerobic exercise is steady activity done at an
intensity that raises the heart rate into the target
heart rate zone. (e.g.: running , jogging , cycling)