Australia is predominantly a western culture which has been significantly influenced by the United Kingdom as well as the unique geography of Australia and the cultural inputs from the Indigenous Australian communities who have inhabited the continent for thousands of years (Meyrick et al., 2018). The lifestyle and patterns of consumption have seen significant changes over the past few decades, and it has been at par with other developed countries in the world with major international businesses operating from Australia. Studies have shown that with the rapid urbanization and globalization, the consumption patterns and lifestyle have also changed and have resulted in an increase in the incidence of lifestyle related diseases (Germov & Poole, 2011).
The aim of this essay is to discuss the lifestyle and consumption of contemporary Australians, and its relation to the health and wellbeing of Australians.
Some of the major diseases associated with lifestyle and consumption which are prevalent across Australia include obesity, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, asthma, cardiovascular diseases and some forms of cancer. According to several studies, the risks of these diseases are closely associated with the lifestyle as well as choice of food and consumption patterns of the people (Thorburn et al., 2014; Morris et al., 2016). Discussed below are the consumption patterns and lifestyle choices which have increased the risks of this disease among Australians.
Modernization of jobs and implementation of technologies have resulted in the reduction of manual work for most desk based jobs. The employees no longer need to move much, and work can get done with the click of a mouse, sitting behind a computer. Although this have resulted in the work becoming much faster, it also have resulted in the office work becoming more sedentary, as the employees end up spending a long time sitting behind a computer. Additionally, there also has been a growing trend among Australian families to spend the evenings and weekends in front of the television screen, which further increases the sedentary time spent by the family (Biswas et al., 2015; Jochem et al., 2018).
The popularity of fast food has been increasing in Australia for several years. All the major fast food brands such as McDonalds, Domino’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hungry Jacks, Red Rooster and Oporto have strong presence in Australia for quite some time and have become a cultural significance. More and more schoolchildren now a day prefer to eat fast food. This culture has also been propagated by the popular and mainstream media with the brands being regularly advertised on television and media. As a result of which the rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases still continue to be a major source of morbidity and mortality across the continent (Harray et al., 2017; Boylan et al., 2017)).
Apart from Junk food, Australians are also major consumers of sugarated drinks such as pop soda and canned fruit juice. Brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Tropicana have significant market share in Australia and a very strong consumer base. Moreover, the major consumers of these products are the Australian youth, such as school and college students. Studies have shown that the sugarated beverages are one of the significant contributors of obesity and diabetes, and hence it can also be concluded that the popularity of the sugarated drinks in Australia is also an important contributor of morbidity and mortality in Australia (Harray et al., 2017).
With a rise in the costs of living and rapid urbanization, the lifestyle of people especially in the metropolitan and urban regions has become fast paced. Due to the busy schedule, people find it more difficult to find time for healthy activities such as exercises, going for a walk or jogging. Due to this their health and wellbeing can get significantly affected, increasing the risks of diseases such as obesity and diabetes. However, in the rural and remote areas, people predominantly prefer a laid back lifestyle and have more time for physical activities (McPhail & Waite, 2014).
As of 2015, more than 2.5 million Australians were estimated to be smoking regularly and 200,000 smoking irregularly, while three out of every ten Australians were found to be ex smokers. This shows that the habit of smoking is very much prevalent across Australia. Even though there has been a 36% reduction in smokers since 2001, the number of current smokers is still very high. These habit further increases the risks of several diseases such as lower respiratory problems, obesity and even cancer. Furthermore, the rates of smoking were found to be higher among the unemployed people and in the most disadvantaged regions which shows that the lifestyle has a significant impact on the smoking habits of people (Guillaumier et al., 2017; Knott et al., 2016).
Drinking alcohol has been a part of the Australian culture for a long time. Alcohol has played an important role in many cultural celebrations, social activities as well as in recreation and leisure activities. However, drinking also increase risks for several types of health conditions such as obesity, liver diseases, kidney diseases and cardiovascular diseases. According to studies, 17% of Australians (or 1 out of every 6 people) consume dangerous levels of alcohol that can lead to disease or injury and 26% (of 1 out of 4 people) have dinks a large amount of alcohol which can increase risks of injury or diseases, at least once a month (Azar et al., 2016).
The consumption of illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, marijuana, crystal meth and other pharmacological opioids have increased in Australia. These drugs can significantly impact the health and wellbeing of the people, and increase the risks of several mental health conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and amnesia and early dementia. These mental health problems also have resulted in the incidence of suicides, and statistics show 10.4 out of every 100,000 Australians commit suicide each year (Kostadinov & Roche, 2017).
Conclusion
The culture of Australia has been influenced by the western culture as well as the indigenous history of the continent. With the rapid urbanization and development in Australia, the lifestyle and consumption patterns of the Australians have also changed over the ages. This change in lifestyle and consumption patterns has also increased the risks of several diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases and metabolic syndromes. Factors such as a reduction in physical activity increase in sedentary lifestyle, consumption of unhealthy food and sugarated beverages, busy city life, and smoking, drinking alcohol and drug abuse have been the major contributors of morbidity and mortality across the continent.
References:
Azar, D., White, V., Coomber, K., Faulkner, A., Livingston, M., Chikritzhs, T., … & Wakefield, M. (2016). The association between alcohol outlet density and alcohol use among urban and regional Australian adolescents. Addiction, 111(1), 65-72.
Biswas, A., Oh, P. I., Faulkner, G. E., Bajaj, R. R., Silver, M. A., Mitchell, M. S., & Alter, D. A. (2015). Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality, and hospitalization in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of internal medicine, 162(2), 123-132.
Boylan, S., Hardy, L. L., Drayton, B. A., Grunseit, A., & Mihrshahi, S. (2017). Assessing junk food consumption among Australian children: trends and associated characteristics from a cross-sectional study. BMC public health, 17(1), 299.
Germov, J., & Poole, M. (2011). Public sociology: An introduction to Australian society. Allen & Unwin.
Guillaumier, A., Twyman, L., Paul, C., Siahpush, M., Palazzi, K., & Bonevski, B. (2017). Financial stress and smoking within a large sample of socially disadvantaged Australians. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(3), 231.
Harray, A. J., Boushey, C. J., Pollard, C. M., Panizza, C. E., Delp, E. J., Dhaliwal, S. S., & Kerr, D. A. (2017). Perception v. actual intakes of junk food and sugar-sweetened beverages in Australian young adults: assessed using the mobile food record. Public health nutrition, 20(13), 2300-2307.
Jochem, C., Schmid, D., & Leitzmann, M. F. (2018). Introduction to Sedentary Behaviour Epidemiology. In Sedentary Behaviour Epidemiology (pp. 3-29). Springer, Cham.
Knott, V. E., Gilligan, G., Maksimovic, L., Shen, D., & Murphy, M. (2016). Gender determinants of smoking practice in indigenous communities: an exploratory study. European journal of cancer care, 25(2), 231-241.
Kostadinov, V., & Roche, A. (2017). Bongs and baby boomers: Trends in cannabis use among older Australians. Australasian journal on ageing, 36(1), 56-59.
McPhail, S. M., & Waite, M. C. (2014). Physical activity and health-related quality of life among physiotherapists: a cross sectional survey in an Australian hospital and health service. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, 9(1), 1.
Meyrick, J., Phiddian, R., & Barnett, T. (2018). What Matters? Talking Value in Australian Culture. australian art education, 39(2).
Morris, L. J., D’Este, C., Sargent-Cox, K., & Anstey, K. J. (2016). Concurrent lifestyle risk factors: Clusters and determinants in an Australian sample. Preventive medicine, 84, 1-5.
Thorburn, A. N., Macia, L., & Mackay, C. R. (2014). Diet, metabolites, and “western-lifestyle” inflammatory diseases. Immunity, 40(6), 833-842.
Australia is predominantly a western culture which has been significantly influenced by the United Kingdom as well as the unique geography of Australia and the cultural inputs from the Indigenous Australian communities who have inhabited the continent for thousands of years (Meyrick et al., 2018). The lifestyle and patterns of consumption have seen significant changes over the past few decades, and it has been at par with other developed countries in the world with major international businesses operating from Australia. Studies have shown that with the rapid urbanization and globalization, the consumption patterns and lifestyle have also changed and have resulted in an increase in the incidence of lifestyle related diseases (Germov & Poole, 2011).
The aim of this essay is to discuss the lifestyle and consumption of contemporary Australians, and its relation to the health and wellbeing of Australians.
Some of the major diseases associated with lifestyle and consumption which are prevalent across Australia include obesity, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, asthma, cardiovascular diseases and some forms of cancer. According to several studies, the risks of these diseases are closely associated with the lifestyle as well as choice of food and consumption patterns of the people (Thorburn et al., 2014; Morris et al., 2016). Discussed below are the consumption patterns and lifestyle choices which have increased the risks of this disease among Australians.
Modernization of jobs and implementation of technologies have resulted in the reduction of manual work for most desk based jobs. The employees no longer need to move much, and work can get done with the click of a mouse, sitting behind a computer. Although this have resulted in the work becoming much faster, it also have resulted in the office work becoming more sedentary, as the employees end up spending a long time sitting behind a computer. Additionally, there also has been a growing trend among Australian families to spend the evenings and weekends in front of the television screen, which further increases the sedentary time spent by the family (Biswas et al., 2015; Jochem et al., 2018).
The popularity of fast food has been increasing in Australia for several years. All the major fast food brands such as McDonalds, Domino’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hungry Jacks, Red Rooster and Oporto have strong presence in Australia for quite some time and have become a cultural significance. More and more schoolchildren now a day prefer to eat fast food. This culture has also been propagated by the popular and mainstream media with the brands being regularly advertised on television and media. As a result of which the rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases still continue to be a major source of morbidity and mortality across the continent (Harray et al., 2017; Boylan et al., 2017)).
Apart from Junk food, Australians are also major consumers of sugarated drinks such as pop soda and canned fruit juice. Brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Tropicana have significant market share in Australia and a very strong consumer base. Moreover, the major consumers of these products are the Australian youth, such as school and college students. Studies have shown that the sugarated beverages are one of the significant contributors of obesity and diabetes, and hence it can also be concluded that the popularity of the sugarated drinks in Australia is also an important contributor of morbidity and mortality in Australia (Harray et al., 2017).
With a rise in the costs of living and rapid urbanization, the lifestyle of people especially in the metropolitan and urban regions has become fast paced. Due to the busy schedule, people find it more difficult to find time for healthy activities such as exercises, going for a walk or jogging. Due to this their health and wellbeing can get significantly affected, increasing the risks of diseases such as obesity and diabetes. However, in the rural and remote areas, people predominantly prefer a laid back lifestyle and have more time for physical activities (McPhail & Waite, 2014).
As of 2015, more than 2.5 million Australians were estimated to be smoking regularly and 200,000 smoking irregularly, while three out of every ten Australians were found to be ex smokers. This shows that the habit of smoking is very much prevalent across Australia. Even though there has been a 36% reduction in smokers since 2001, the number of current smokers is still very high. These habit further increases the risks of several diseases such as lower respiratory problems, obesity and even cancer. Furthermore, the rates of smoking were found to be higher among the unemployed people and in the most disadvantaged regions which shows that the lifestyle has a significant impact on the smoking habits of people (Guillaumier et al., 2017; Knott et al., 2016).
Drinking alcohol has been a part of the Australian culture for a long time. Alcohol has played an important role in many cultural celebrations, social activities as well as in recreation and leisure activities. However, drinking also increase risks for several types of health conditions such as obesity, liver diseases, kidney diseases and cardiovascular diseases. According to studies, 17% of Australians (or 1 out of every 6 people) consume dangerous levels of alcohol that can lead to disease or injury and 26% (of 1 out of 4 people) have dinks a large amount of alcohol which can increase risks of injury or diseases, at least once a month (Azar et al., 2016).
The consumption of illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, marijuana, crystal meth and other pharmacological opioids have increased in Australia. These drugs can significantly impact the health and wellbeing of the people, and increase the risks of several mental health conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and amnesia and early dementia. These mental health problems also have resulted in the incidence of suicides, and statistics show 10.4 out of every 100,000 Australians commit suicide each year (Kostadinov & Roche, 2017).
Conclusion
The culture of Australia has been influenced by the western culture as well as the indigenous history of the continent. With the rapid urbanization and development in Australia, the lifestyle and consumption patterns of the Australians have also changed over the ages. This change in lifestyle and consumption patterns has also increased the risks of several diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases and metabolic syndromes. Factors such as a reduction in physical activity increase in sedentary lifestyle, consumption of unhealthy food and sugarated beverages, busy city life, and smoking, drinking alcohol and drug abuse have been the major contributors of morbidity and mortality across the continent.
References:
Azar, D., White, V., Coomber, K., Faulkner, A., Livingston, M., Chikritzhs, T., … & Wakefield, M. (2016). The association between alcohol outlet density and alcohol use among urban and regional Australian adolescents. Addiction, 111(1), 65-72.
Biswas, A., Oh, P. I., Faulkner, G. E., Bajaj, R. R., Silver, M. A., Mitchell, M. S., & Alter, D. A. (2015). Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality, and hospitalization in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of internal medicine, 162(2), 123-132.
Boylan, S., Hardy, L. L., Drayton, B. A., Grunseit, A., & Mihrshahi, S. (2017). Assessing junk food consumption among Australian children: trends and associated characteristics from a cross-sectional study. BMC public health, 17(1), 299.
Germov, J., & Poole, M. (2011). Public sociology: An introduction to Australian society. Allen & Unwin.
Guillaumier, A., Twyman, L., Paul, C., Siahpush, M., Palazzi, K., & Bonevski, B. (2017). Financial stress and smoking within a large sample of socially disadvantaged Australians. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(3), 231.
Harray, A. J., Boushey, C. J., Pollard, C. M., Panizza, C. E., Delp, E. J., Dhaliwal, S. S., & Kerr, D. A. (2017). Perception v. actual intakes of junk food and sugar-sweetened beverages in Australian young adults: assessed using the mobile food record. Public health nutrition, 20(13), 2300-2307.
Jochem, C., Schmid, D., & Leitzmann, M. F. (2018). Introduction to Sedentary Behaviour Epidemiology. In Sedentary Behaviour Epidemiology (pp. 3-29). Springer, Cham.
Knott, V. E., Gilligan, G., Maksimovic, L., Shen, D., & Murphy, M. (2016). Gender determinants of smoking practice in indigenous communities: an exploratory study. European journal of cancer care, 25(2), 231-241.
Kostadinov, V., & Roche, A. (2017). Bongs and baby boomers: Trends in cannabis use among older Australians. Australasian journal on ageing, 36(1), 56-59.
McPhail, S. M., & Waite, M. C. (2014). Physical activity and health-related quality of life among physiotherapists: a cross sectional survey in an Australian hospital and health service. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, 9(1), 1.
Meyrick, J., Phiddian, R., & Barnett, T. (2018). What Matters? Talking Value in Australian Culture. australian art education, 39(2).
Morris, L. J., D’Este, C., Sargent-Cox, K., & Anstey, K. J. (2016). Concurrent lifestyle risk factors: Clusters and determinants in an Australian sample. Preventive medicine, 84, 1-5.
Thorburn, A. N., Macia, L., & Mackay, C. R. (2014). Diet, metabolites, and “western-lifestyle” inflammatory diseases. Immunity, 40(6), 833-842.
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