Homework Help is Here – Start Your Trial Now!
Social Science
Sociology
Write a summary with acknowledgment for Who Lives Longer? By Patricia Skalka

Write a summary with acknowledgment for Who Lives Longer? By Patricia Skalka

Social Psychology (10th Edition)
Social Psychology (10th Edition)
10th Edition
ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Chapter1: Introducing Social Psychology
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1RQ1
See similar textbooks
icon
Related questions
Question

Write a summary with acknowledgment for Who Lives Longer? By Patricia Skalka

70 75 80 Environment Where you live can make a difference in how long you live. A study by the California Department of Health Services in Berkeley found a 40 percent higher mortality rate among people living in a poverty area compared to those in a nonpoverty area. "The difference was not due to age, sex, health care or lifestyle," says George A. Kaplan, Ph.D., chief of the department's Human Population Laboratory. The resulting hypothesis: A locale can have environmental characteristics, such as polluted air or water, or socioeconomic characteristics, such as a high crime rate and level of stress, that make it unhealthy. A: Slid st Ess Nava Socioeconomic Status People with higher incomes, more education and high-status occupations tend to live longer. Researchers used to think this was due to better living and job conditions, nutrition and access to health care, but these theories have not held up. Nevertheless, the differences can be dramatic. Among women 65 to 74 years old, those with less than an eighth-grade education are much more likely to die than are women who have completed at least one year of college. peci Pus What Can You Do? The message from the experts is clear. There are many ways to add years to your life. Instituting sound health practices and expanding your circle of acquaintances and activities will have a beneficial effect. The good news about aging, observes Erdman B. Palmore of the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke Medical Center in North Carolina, is many of the factors related to longevity are also related to life satisfaction.
Transcribed Image Text:70 75 80 Environment Where you live can make a difference in how long you live. A study by the California Department of Health Services in Berkeley found a 40 percent higher mortality rate among people living in a poverty area compared to those in a nonpoverty area. "The difference was not due to age, sex, health care or lifestyle," says George A. Kaplan, Ph.D., chief of the department's Human Population Laboratory. The resulting hypothesis: A locale can have environmental characteristics, such as polluted air or water, or socioeconomic characteristics, such as a high crime rate and level of stress, that make it unhealthy. A: Slid st Ess Nava Socioeconomic Status People with higher incomes, more education and high-status occupations tend to live longer. Researchers used to think this was due to better living and job conditions, nutrition and access to health care, but these theories have not held up. Nevertheless, the differences can be dramatic. Among women 65 to 74 years old, those with less than an eighth-grade education are much more likely to die than are women who have completed at least one year of college. peci Pus What Can You Do? The message from the experts is clear. There are many ways to add years to your life. Instituting sound health practices and expanding your circle of acquaintances and activities will have a beneficial effect. The good news about aging, observes Erdman B. Palmore of the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke Medical Center in North Carolina, is many of the factors related to longevity are also related to life satisfaction.
20 25 15 Reading Read the passage carefully. Then complete the exercises that follow. (D1 TR 12 5 Who lives longer? by Patricia Skalka, McCall's How to live longer is a topic that has fascinated mankind for centuries. Today, scientists are beginning to separate the facts from the fallacies surrounding the aging process. Why is it that some people reach a ripe old age and others do not? Several factors influencing longevity are set at birth, but surprisingly, many others elements that can be changed. Here is what you should know. Some researchers divide the elements determining who will live longer into two categories: fixed factors and changeable factors. Gender, race and heredity are fixed factors they can't be reversed, although certain long-term social changes can influence them. For example, women live longer than men-at birth, their life 10 expectancy¹ is about seven to eight years more. However, cigarette smoking, drinking, and reckless driving could shorten this advantage. There is increasing evidence that length of life is also influenced by a number of elements that are within your ability to control. The most obvious are physical lifestyle factors. bret Health Measures According to a landmark study of nearly 7,000 adults in Alameda County, California, women can add up to seven years to their lives and men 11 to 12 years by following seven simple health practices: (1) Don't smoke. (2) If you drink, do so only moderately. (3) Eat breakfast regularly. (4) Don't eat between meals. (5) Maintain normal weight. (6) Sleep about eight hours a night. (7) Exercise moderately. Cutting calories may be the single most significant lifestyle change you can make. Experiments have shown that in laboratory animals, a 40 percent calorie reduction leads to a 50 percent extension in longevity. "Eating less has a more profound and diversified effect on the aging process than does any other lifestyle change," says Byung P. Yu, Ph.D., professor of physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. "It is the only factor we know of in laboratory animals that is an anti-aging factor." fe expectancy is a measure of how long persons may live based on the year of their birth. 30 35 40 Psychosocial Factors off disease. All the various factors that constitute and influence daily life can be A long life, however, is not just the result of being good to your body and staving studying links between longevity and the psychological and social aspects of human critical too. In searching for the ingredients to a long, healthy existence, scientists are existence. The following can play significant roles in determining your longevity. Social Integration Researchers have found that people who are socially integrated-they are part of a family network, are married, participate in structured group activities-live longer. Early studies indicated that the more friends and relatives you had, the longer you lived. Newer studies focus on the types of relationships that are most beneficial. "Larger networks don't always seem to be advantageous to women," says epidemiologist Teresa Seeman, Ph.D., associate research scientist at Yale University. "Certain kinds of ties add more demands rather than generate more help." Autonomy A feeling of autonomy or control can come from having a say in important by people who inspire confidence in your ability to master certain tasks (yes, you can decisions (where you live, how you spend your money) or from being surrounded quit smoking, you will get well). Studies show these feelings bring a sense of well- being and satisfaction with life. "Autonomy is a key factor in successful aging," says 45 Toni Antonucci, associate research scientist at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Stress and Job Satisfaction Researchers disagree on how these factors affect longevity. There isn't enough data available to support a link between stress and longevity, says Edward L. Schneider, M.D., dean of the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern 50 California. Animal research, however, provides exciting insights. In studies with laboratory rats, certain types of stress damage the immune system and destroy brain cells, especially those involved in memory. Other kinds of stress enhance immune function by 20 to 30 percent, supporting a theory first advanced by Hans Selye, M.D., Ph.D., a pioneer in stress research. He proposed that an exciting, active and 55 meaningful life contributes to good health. The relationship between job satisfaction and longevity also remains in question. According to some researchers, a satisfying job adds years to a man's life, while volunteer work increases a woman's longevity. These findings may change as more women participate in the workforce. One study found that clerical workers suffered twice as many heart attacks as homemakers. Factors associated with the coronary problems were suppressed hostility, having a nonsupportive boss, and decreased job mobility. UNIT 2 Influences on Our Lives: Nature vs. Nurturn
Transcribed Image Text:20 25 15 Reading Read the passage carefully. Then complete the exercises that follow. (D1 TR 12 5 Who lives longer? by Patricia Skalka, McCall's How to live longer is a topic that has fascinated mankind for centuries. Today, scientists are beginning to separate the facts from the fallacies surrounding the aging process. Why is it that some people reach a ripe old age and others do not? Several factors influencing longevity are set at birth, but surprisingly, many others elements that can be changed. Here is what you should know. Some researchers divide the elements determining who will live longer into two categories: fixed factors and changeable factors. Gender, race and heredity are fixed factors they can't be reversed, although certain long-term social changes can influence them. For example, women live longer than men-at birth, their life 10 expectancy¹ is about seven to eight years more. However, cigarette smoking, drinking, and reckless driving could shorten this advantage. There is increasing evidence that length of life is also influenced by a number of elements that are within your ability to control. The most obvious are physical lifestyle factors. bret Health Measures According to a landmark study of nearly 7,000 adults in Alameda County, California, women can add up to seven years to their lives and men 11 to 12 years by following seven simple health practices: (1) Don't smoke. (2) If you drink, do so only moderately. (3) Eat breakfast regularly. (4) Don't eat between meals. (5) Maintain normal weight. (6) Sleep about eight hours a night. (7) Exercise moderately. Cutting calories may be the single most significant lifestyle change you can make. Experiments have shown that in laboratory animals, a 40 percent calorie reduction leads to a 50 percent extension in longevity. "Eating less has a more profound and diversified effect on the aging process than does any other lifestyle change," says Byung P. Yu, Ph.D., professor of physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. "It is the only factor we know of in laboratory animals that is an anti-aging factor." fe expectancy is a measure of how long persons may live based on the year of their birth. 30 35 40 Psychosocial Factors off disease. All the various factors that constitute and influence daily life can be A long life, however, is not just the result of being good to your body and staving studying links between longevity and the psychological and social aspects of human critical too. In searching for the ingredients to a long, healthy existence, scientists are existence. The following can play significant roles in determining your longevity. Social Integration Researchers have found that people who are socially integrated-they are part of a family network, are married, participate in structured group activities-live longer. Early studies indicated that the more friends and relatives you had, the longer you lived. Newer studies focus on the types of relationships that are most beneficial. "Larger networks don't always seem to be advantageous to women," says epidemiologist Teresa Seeman, Ph.D., associate research scientist at Yale University. "Certain kinds of ties add more demands rather than generate more help." Autonomy A feeling of autonomy or control can come from having a say in important by people who inspire confidence in your ability to master certain tasks (yes, you can decisions (where you live, how you spend your money) or from being surrounded quit smoking, you will get well). Studies show these feelings bring a sense of well- being and satisfaction with life. "Autonomy is a key factor in successful aging," says 45 Toni Antonucci, associate research scientist at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Stress and Job Satisfaction Researchers disagree on how these factors affect longevity. There isn't enough data available to support a link between stress and longevity, says Edward L. Schneider, M.D., dean of the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern 50 California. Animal research, however, provides exciting insights. In studies with laboratory rats, certain types of stress damage the immune system and destroy brain cells, especially those involved in memory. Other kinds of stress enhance immune function by 20 to 30 percent, supporting a theory first advanced by Hans Selye, M.D., Ph.D., a pioneer in stress research. He proposed that an exciting, active and 55 meaningful life contributes to good health. The relationship between job satisfaction and longevity also remains in question. According to some researchers, a satisfying job adds years to a man's life, while volunteer work increases a woman's longevity. These findings may change as more women participate in the workforce. One study found that clerical workers suffered twice as many heart attacks as homemakers. Factors associated with the coronary problems were suppressed hostility, having a nonsupportive boss, and decreased job mobility. UNIT 2 Influences on Our Lives: Nature vs. Nurturn
Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 3 steps

SEE SOLUTIONCheck out a sample Q&A here
Blurred answer
Recommended textbooks for you
Social Psychology (10th Edition)
Social Psychology (10th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:
9780134641287
Author:
Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:
Pearson College Div
Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)
Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:
9780393639407
Author:
Deborah Carr, Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis…
The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis…
Sociology
ISBN:
9781305503076
Author:
Earl R. Babbie
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien…
Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien…
Sociology
ISBN:
9780134477596
Author:
Saferstein, Richard
Publisher:
PEARSON
Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)
Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:
9780134205571
Author:
James M. Henslin
Publisher:
PEARSON
Society: The Basics (14th Edition)
Society: The Basics (14th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:
9780134206325
Author:
John J. Macionis
Publisher:
PEARSON
SEE MORE TEXTBOOKS