“If people became ill, it is largely their own fault.” How far do you agree? (A’ Level 02’)

Being ill is an inevitable and complex issue one has to face as an individual. Due to a lack of sufficient attention to one’s health, man is susceptible to illness and disease. Not only people suffer from infirmity, they are not in a state of completely physical, mental and social well-being. However, is the role of an individual the only factor which is responsible for good health? I beg to differ.

People should be responsible to one’s health through their food consumption. If people do not control their diet and consume without discipline, the fault lies within the individual when the consequence of being ill arises. Take fast foods for example, people may consume it for the benefit of convenience or just for the aim of satisfying their food cravings. When people are unable to resist their overwhelming desire, they would most often overindulge which would be a bane to their health. According to Food and Drug Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, reports that trans fat, like saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, raises the levels of LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol and lowers the levels of HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol. Furthermore, triglyceride levels and lipoprotein levels increase. This in turn escalates the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Hence, it is one’s responsibility to resist their cravings and search for alternatives like steamed or grilled skinless chicken which is healthier. When people become ill eventually due to their choice as well as the failure to change their diet, it is their own fault.

Not only is the above factor, personal lifestyle choice is also one reason which contributes to people getting ill. The lack of healthy habits as well as having an inappropriate pace of life will impact one’s health adversely. According to data from the American Heart Association, there is a cause and effect relationship between smoking and coronary heart disease. Moreover, according to the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide, smoking makes blood flow restricted due to the buildup of small fatty deposits, or plaques, on the artery wall. Thus, smoking has been linked to atherosclerosis - clogging of the arteries. Once the buildup has become significant, it may cause heart attacks, abnormal heart rhythms and angina. Furthermore, findings from the World Health Organization (WHO) on risk factors suggest that sedentary lifestyle is one of the ten leading causes of death and disability in the world. Physical inactivity increases all causes mortality, doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and obesity. It also increases the risks of colon and breast cancer, high blood pressure, lipid disorders, osteoporosis, depression and anxiety. Hence, people should adopt a healthy, active lifestyle coupled with regular exercises which would be beneficial to their health in the long run. Therefore, it is people’s fault when they become ill due to the choice of the way people want to lead their lives.

On the contrary, it is not entirely people’s fault when they become ill as environmental factors play a part in this. The environment which people lives in is beyond their control although they can play their role as responsible citizens by protecting the environment like not littering and polluting. What the government decides for the country and its people is largely out of the citizens’ control to change any highly authorized decision. For instance, the WHO has reported that many governments simply cannot afford to perform their essential public health functions. Funds are presently inadequate and new solutions are being explored, but countries must remain in the driver’s seat. In this way, when citizens are not attended to when the need arises. Furthermore, when industries operate and hence, emit pollutants and waste, they cause air, water, and noise pollution. Inevitably, people’s health would be affected and could thus get frequent asthma attacks, breathing problems. In these cases, are people still at fault that they become ill when things are beyond their control?

The most controversial factor affecting people’s health is poverty. With globalization, the economic gaps between developed countries and developing countries widen. Why do poverty still surface in some Economically More Developed Countries then? The WHO has accounted that more developing countries now have pockets of wealth that attract the lion’s share of spending on health. More wealthy countries have growing urban slums and shanty towns, often populated by immigrants, which drain health resources and strain the social welfare system. In addition, developing countries are experiencing a dramatic rise in chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and asthma. Hence, these diseases thrive in impoverished settings, and they deepen poverty, leaving people to live in a vicious poverty cycle. People simply cannot help it when the country they are living in is incapable of providing the essential health care required. Therefore, it is not people’s fault that they become ill.

In the final analysis, there is no doubt that when people become ill due to a matter of choice, it is their own fault. As stated by Virgil, the greatest wealth is health. Just like what Carrie Latet has said, “If you don’t take care of yourself, the undertaker will overtake that responsibility for you.” However, the incrimination should not lie on the people when conditions are beyond their control.