| Abstract/Notes |
Over the past 50 to 60 years,major transitions have occured in knowledge, expectation, and attitudes regarding health. The transitions have been to(1)an acceptance of the critical impotance of lifestyle,(2)an expectation that any pain and problem can be alleviated or fixed,and(3)an attitude that passive treatmen may be as effective as ective correction. Clearly,there is inconsistency between understanding that lifestyle is a major factor in health and the belief that any condition is not only amenable to passive treatment but is also effectively treated by medication. Because the transitions have takn place over many years,few people are aware of the extent of changes in lifestyle and expectations of medical care. The Lack of awareness is consistent with the principle that everything is relative. People do not appreciate that our current lifestyle requires minimal physical activity or that we consume more and less healtheir types of food than in years past. When I was growing up in the 1940s and 1950s,the prevailing belief was that whatever afected an individual's health was inevitable and uncontrollable. Hearth attacks just happened. You developed high blood presseure on cancer. |
