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Health Impairing Behaviours
As time goes on and technology advances, life expectancy is on the rise as well. Over the years, on average, a Canadians life expectancy has increased a substantial amount. Most citizens choose a healthy lifestyle that consists of good eating and living habits, while others citizens decide to choose a completely different lifestyle that takes a big toll on their personal health. These choices can range from, drinking, smoking, drugs, lack of exercise, behaviour and AIDS. This website will go over each of these different behaviours and what affect they can have on your everyday life and why people develop these behaviours.

Smoking
Even though there has been a noticeable decline in smoking since the 1980's it is still something that is widespread and carried out by many. 20.3% of Canadians over the age of 12 are smokers with the majority of them being males. The provinces British Columbia and Ontario have the lowest smoking rates in Canada. Nunavut and Northwest Territories have the highest rates of smoking in Canada. Smoking is the leading cause of pre mature death in North America with more than 7000 chemicals getting inhaled into the body with each individual inhale of a cigarette, which can cause cellular damage. Even though lung cancer and heart disease are the leading causes of death for smokers in Canada, smokers are still at risk for many other types of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and pulmonary diseases. People who spend a lot of time around people smoking are at risk for second-hand smoking which can have a series of negative health effects. Second-hand smoking can lead to lung cancer, heart disease, breast cancer (in females) and young children with asthma are especially effected by second-hand smoking. When people give up smoking, their health risks decline at a reasonably quick pace however, smoking cigarettes is an addiction and it is difficult to quit.

Lack of Exercise
Poor health and obesity can directly be linked to lack of exercise and long periods in sedentary activities(Statistics Canada, 2008D). Many health problems can be reduced through regular exercise, for example; jogging, cycling, weightlifting, and sports. Regular exercise reduces the risk of diabetes, some types of cancer, high blood pressure, and several types of psychopathology (Colley et a., 2011), and essentially is linked to higher life expectancy. Statistics Canada suggests that only 17% of men and 14% of women are completing the world health organization recommendations of 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity(Colley et al., 2014). Since 1981, 2009 Canadian children's fitness level has dramatically declined. This decline in fitness has caused youth to gain weight causing an increased health risk among 15-19 year olds, which has tripled the chances of these children facing a health risk (Statistics Canada, 2010c). This decline in physical activity and the constant increase in electronics and technology has caused Canadian kids to spend up to 8 hours in front of a screen on average per day (Active Healthy Kids Canada, 2014; Bielski, 2013). There are a number of reasons why people should exercise which all correlate to higher life expectancy. Enhancing cardiovascular fitness strengthens the heart reducing the risk of deadly cardiovascular problems. Fitness can also help reduce obesity which also eliminates health risks caused by obesity such as diabetes. In recent studies exercise can be proven to help reduce chronic inflammation and generally exercise can help deal with stress or stress-related issues.

Alcohol and Drug Use
Although there have been many different studies completed and evidence gathered over the years that prove consuming alcohol or drugs is bad for your personal health and creates serious risks people still partake in these activity's. The one recreational drug that causes the most overall damage to the population is actually legal. This drug is referred to as alcohol, as long as you are 19 years of age living in Canada you have access to various different types and sizes of alcohol. Another big problem with alcohol is underage drinking. Out of all the health impairing behaviours drug use should be one that is taken more seriously. This is due to the fact that drugs can cause death if the individual taking them Consumes to much of the substance, which is referred to as an overdose. Regular use of certain drugs will increase an individuals risk of developing different infectious diseases such as; respiratory, pulmonary, cardiovascular diseases, liver disease, gastrointestinal problems, cancer, neurological disorders, and pregnancy complications.

Behaviour and Aids
Research based on AIDS began in 1981 and has made an considerable amount of progress. "The acronym AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, which is defined as a disorder in which the immune system is gradually weakened and eventually disabled by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)" (Weiten, 2016). HIV and AIDS are not the same thing, not everyone with HIV has HIV/AIDS. AIDS is the final stage of the HIV infection process, for it to get to this point it will take approximately 10 years. Symptoms of AIDS vary widely upon those affected, the disease may develop differently according to one's circumstances. The early stages of HIV may produce symptoms such as "body rash, fever, sore throat and severe headaches, 80% of people report flu-like symptoms that usually last 1-2 weeks. The next stage of HIV symptoms may not be felt. The final stage is AIDS which happens years later and many people feel nausea, vomiting, persistent diarrhea, chronic fatigue, rapid weight loss, cough and shortness of breath" (Healthline, n.d.) The second stage of HIV boasts side effects that weakens the body and makes it more susceptible and defenceless against other infectious diseases. There has been a trend of HIV cases decreasing in the past few years. According to Weiten's book Psychology Themes and Variations, in 2012 cases reported were down 18.1% from 2011 and showing a total decrease of 90.6% since 1993, which is a huge step towards preventing this disease from spreading. The top two methods related to HIV/AIDS being spread are... The recommended to prevent getting steps are not that too complicated but may require some people to change their behaviour. A behavioural change that could be made would be to have less sexual partners, people who tend to have more than one sexual partner are more likely to contract the disease. The risk of this disease can also be reduced by wearing a condom. Many people, especially young adults, tend to not use condoms but wearing one could be the reason why they don't get this disease. A study taken at Queen's University showed that there is a link between those with high levels of alcohol consumption to those who don't use a condom (Hynie, MacDonald, & Marques, 2006). The steps to preventing the disease are fairly straightforward and may only require a minor behavioural change that could prevent a disease that may affect a person for the rest of their life.
 * 1) Sexual intercourse and;
 * 2) Sharing needles by intravenous (IV) drug users.

How Does Health-Impairing Behaviour Develop?
We all know that people behave in self destructive ways. you yourself probably do as well. There are a number of different factors that play a roll in why we as individuals participate in these health impairing behaviours. A lot of the time it starts out small and slowly becomes a bigger problem. for example there are drugs referred to as "gateway drugs". These are drugs that you start doing thinking they are harmless but then lead to the individual consuming more serious drugs that affect day to day life. Most of the time health impairing behaviours are enjoyable and fun to do in groups with friends so its hard to say no. some examples of enjoyable/pleasant health impairing behaviours are; eating fast foods, drinking with friends at a party or going to the bars, and doing drugs depending on the person. Most of the risks that go along with health impairing behaviour are long term and society likes to focus on the now and not the future. In other words we like to focus on the reward instead of the punishment. Most People who participate in these health impairing behaviours know what the risks are but decide to ignore them.

References Weiten W. (2016). Psychology themes and variations (5th ed). Toronto, Ontario. Nelson Education.

Healthline (n.d.). HIV symptoms in men. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/symptoms-men