Healthcare Organization in the United States
Writing Assignment 5: (55 points)
o Judging by the amount of media coverage (and not by physical appearances), Americans are keenly interested in preserving health, preventing disease, and extending healthy life spans. The barrage of information on how to accomplish these ends, however, can be conflicting and contradictory: Do not ingest too much caffeine because of the risk of breast cancer vs. caffeine’s beneficial health effects (in some teas, for example). The debate rages on: low fat vs. nonfat; high-carb vs. low-carb diets; salt vs. low or no salt; alcohol vs. no alcohol; low fat vs. nonfat milk; ad infinitum.
o Compose a paper answering the following questions and applying biblical Scripture relating to preserving health and preventing disease to extend healthy life spans.
· Identify and present an array of conflicting information on nutrition and physical activity.
· How can the average consumer begin to know what to do with all this conflicting information?
· Who controls the advertising and marketing of food additives, supplements, vitamins, other nutritional aids and tobacco? (See www.fda.gov.)
· What additional controls, if any, should be placed on advertising the beneficial effects of foods, vitamins, dietary and other supplements? Cigarettes? Alcohol? On the control of exercise equipment or devices (ab crunchers, triple chin thumpers, etc.)?
· How can/should vulnerable populations (e.g., the elderly) be protected from food and other “health” products that have no beneficial effects and may, in fact, be harmful to them?
· Should a scientific clearinghouse be established to sort out the conflicting information on nutrition and physical activity that derives from scientific inquiry?
