By: Rene Rauda
A person who is born in Los Angeles, California won’t have the same life expectancy as someone who is living in a different city. That’s because they might have a healthy lifestyle, certain diet or are living in an area where the air is pollution free.
The average lifespan of a person living in LA is about 81.5 years. The County of Los Angeles Public Health stated Coronary Heart Disease as the leading cause of death here in LA. Lena Ech, a registered nurse at the student health center said, “It can be the area, over here is more fast food and if you go to a nicer area there will be more healthy food[s] and more organic.”
Skipping meals especially breakfast can create a sense of malnutrition which will cause our body to not function properly.Food is very important but we are living in a day and age where a person might not have time to do anything healthy. Such as, a simple workout, preparing a home cook meal or adopting a different eating habit. We are moving constantly with no time to do anything and a meal from a drive thru over at a fast-food restaurant is a more convenient option.
Carla Hidashima another registered nurse over at the student health center said that family traditions can be a factor with our life expectancy. Her family who are originally from Japan discussed about their diet being mostly seafood and vegetables.“You have people who are in their 40’s who adopted an American style diet and would eat McDonalds or fried foods. Now we are seeing higher rates of hypertension and diabetes in a population due to adopting this new diet but those who didn’t have any of these disorders continued with their Japanese diet,” Hidashima said.
Immunization shots are very important and checking regularly with a physician to see if there are any changes to a person’s health.
According to the Los Angeles County of Public Health office “People who are poor, less educated, and have less social support have a higher risk of death and generally experience more health problems.” A low-income family who has a history of heart problems or a weak immune system due to not properly taking care of their children are at risk if nothing is done about it. The health of a person is very important, the only obligation is to maintain the body with proper nutrition and daily exercise.
The American Lung Association reported “Los Angeles, continues to improve posting its lowest number of unhealthy days for ozone pollution and lowest levels of year-round particle pollution. Unfortunately, the region still leads the nation in unhealthy days for ozone pollution.”
Living in LA, high levels of smog are being contributed by diesel-run vehicles and industrial plants. which causes harm not only to the city but people who have breathing problems especially those who have asthma or heart problems.
Additionally, people who are living in the city who is diagnosed with lung cancer are at risk for premature death because air pollution.
The city of LA is a beautiful place to live and continues to improve everyday yet, it would be nice to see more people put more effort to their health. Try to limit yourself from eating at a McDonald’s and focus more on fruits and vegetables which can be find at a local farmer’s market. Even if the schedule is busy, try to make some time to do some exercises and drink plenty of water. Change can improve life expectancy just takes time and effort but in the end, it will be worth it.
