Russia is the birthplace of a healthy lifestyle

Healthy lifestyle: where does it come fromOlga Smirnitskaya, "Be healthy", 03.04.2009

Everyone understands what a healthy lifestyle is in their own way. But is there any primary source or the most authoritative concept? Where did it come from at all, this healthy lifestyle, and why did it become fashionable? 

Russia is the birthplace of elephantsWe have something to be proud of: the concept of "healthy lifestyle" was born in Russia.

1989. The authorship of the term is attributed to professor-pharmacologist Israel Brehman. He was the first who began to promote the scientific concept of a healthy lifestyle among physicians: his reports at conferences enjoyed unprecedented success.

Strictly speaking, there was nothing in Brechman's ideas that we don't know about now: full sleep, balanced nutrition, movement, fresh air – and then with all stops.

1991. The science of valeology appears, based on Brechman's ideas of a healthy lifestyle. Quite quickly, the course "Valeology" began to be taught to schoolchildren and entered the curricula of universities.

1992. The ideas of a healthy lifestyle began to enjoy such success that, in addition to doctors, numerous developers of author's techniques "clung to the locomotive": from Porfiry Ivanov to Paul Bragg. From that moment on, people who want to take care of their health were covered by an avalanche. Within the framework of valeology, they were offered everything from cleansing karma to hardening, from fasting to tantra yoga.

2001. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation excludes the subject "Valeology" from the curricula of universities due to the strong mixing of this discipline with the occult sciences.

So the concept of a "healthy lifestyle" would have disappeared in Russia if it had not been exported to the West. A little less than a decade has passed – and a healthy lifestyle has returned to us under the European label. It is curious that Western doctors and nutritionists find it difficult to name the author of the term and the origin of the phenomenon.

Says Michelle Bravo, a nutritionist at Johns Hopkins University, a member of the American Diabetes Association (Michelle Bravo, JohnsHopkins Medicine International):
"The modern concept of a healthy lifestyle includes reducing the consumption of saturated and trans fatty acids, a balanced diet combined with an active lifestyle, minimizing stress, quitting smoking and minimal alcohol consumption. The concept of a healthy lifestyle is being adjusted taking into account the latest scientific developments and the emergence of new risk factors – such as environmental pollution, the growth of obesity among the population, the rise in the cost of medicine."

Sweden: move more, mope less

The Swedes' health care is based on two pillars: rationality and the desire to save money. Swedes do not use traditional medicine recipes, they regularly buy what they are recommended in pharmacies. But they are not in a hurry to run to the doctor either - they try to transfer light and medium ailments on their feet. If earlier, under the socialist government in Sweden, it was possible to pretend to be sick for years and live comfortably on benefits, then in recent years the state policy regarding healthcare has been tightened: the first days of sick leave are not paid at all – please be sick at your own expense. As a result, the most common Swedish saying concerning health is "it will pass by itself".

As for a healthy lifestyle, we can say that in Sweden it is synonymous with physical activity.

Oksana Senenkova, translator, Swedish citizen since 2001, tells:
"For the Swedes, the promenade is sacred. In general, they prefer to walk, walk, move, be active up to the most advanced years. You can see an old man who walks in an hour by a teaspoon, but he himself. In February, a week of "sports holidays" takes place in all Swedish schools – especially for parents with children to ski, it is customary. I'm not even talking about the bike – it's everywhere here, almost everyone has a two-wheeled friend, in addition, you can rent a bike, bike paths everywhere. The Swedish recipe for health is constant activity, disregard for minor sores, plus the realization that a sick leave will cost you a pretty penny."

USA: it is necessary to eat less

Our idea of a typical American is twofold: on the one hand, a bronze tan and a porcelain smile, on the other – world leadership in obesity. Both are true: a healthy lifestyle is a privilege of the middle class.

Says Tatiana Ilyinichna Bolotina, an emigrant:
"The American middle class is mainly absorbed in a healthy lifestyle. Firstly, there are gyms and swimming pools within walking distance, which they regularly use (especially since it is financially very affordable).
Secondly, the whole middle class is completely concerned about nutrition: they eat much less meat than we do, and more vegetables. Everyone is very attentive to the nutritional information on the labels: how much fat, how many carbohydrates, how much fiber, what is the calorie content, whether there are polyunsaturated fatty acids – all this is described in detail there. And finally, there is a very active promotion of the fight against smoking in society – starting almost from kindergarten.
I must say that the topic of a healthy lifestyle in society is very much discussed, it is the subject of daily conversations among people – how much their lifestyle corresponds to the norms of healthy lifestyle, what new recommendations have appeared. But this is the subject of conversations of the middle class, those who are on the social ladder below, these issues are of much less concern."

The point in the form of nutrition for Americans is not accidental: the number of overweight people is growing so rapidly that, according to experts, 86% of Americans will suffer from excess weight or obesity by 2030. To combat universal overweight, the program "Healthy People-2010" was created.

Michelle Bravo: 
In early 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched the Healthy People 2010 project, an initiative aimed at preserving the health of the nation and preventing various diseases. The project "Healthy People-2010" has two main goals: to improve the quality and duration of a healthy life and to improve the health of the nation and eliminate the difference in the quality of life among different social strata.

Healthy lifestyle in China: when there is no money, the experience of ancestors helpsHalf of the Chinese population cannot afford any medical care.

Only 25% of the urban population and 10% of the rural population are able to pay for medical services: such statistics were made in one of the reports of the Ministry of Health of China. In this situation, only a wealthy person can afford to take care of the state of health. Why aren't the Chinese dying out? In many ways – thanks to national traditions.

1. Everyone is active: not only working people, but also elderly people. Every morning, several dozen old men gather in the parks to practice tai chi. During the day, events are organized for them daily in the parks, the elderly are included in the life of society.

2. In the diet of the Chinese, no matter how meager it may be, there are few harmful products. The main dishes are rice together with vegetables or meat, fried literally for a few minutes at the bottom of a red–hot boiler.

3. The ability to relax quickly. Noticed: only children, animals and Chinese can sleep anywhere and in the most unexpected position. The inhabitants of the Celestial Empire do not disdain a 10-minute break in order to take a nap and gain strength.

4. Acupuncture and massage in China is almost an everyday practice. In any remote village where there is not even electricity and only one street, there are several massage parlors for people of different income levels.

Sergey Ivanov, Researcher at the Institute of Asian and African Countries, Sinologist, tells:
"There was no period of critical rethinking of traditional medicine in China – it immediately got into universities and is taught there to this day. That is, Chinese ideas about human anatomy do not always correspond to European ideas. From Western methods, the Chinese use surgery, in everyday things they trust traditional Chinese medicine.
The Chinese pharmacy looks like we imagine a medieval pharmacy: in addition to pharmacological preparations, dried herbs, bones. With all this, the Chinese tradition in medicine is absolutely working, I myself happened to try it on myself. Moreover, I try to have medicines from the arsenal of traditional Chinese medicine in Moscow."

Japan: work with your headOne day, Japanese scientists decided to investigate what the common phrase hides: "Japan is a country of centenarians."

They collected information about the habits and lifestyle of the centenarians of their country, on the basis of which they compiled the "rules for a long healthy life". Among them were the following: eat less, sleep more, constantly force your brain to work, be able to relax, not dress too warmly, be able to laugh, respect each other in the family, not to smoke and not to drink.

But how much does the lifestyle of modern Japanese correspond to these recommendations?

Narrated by Ryoko Yaamaguchi (PhD, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies):
"All Japanese really want to be healthy, but at the same time, many do not like to limit themselves in food, do not strive to be active. They want to be healthy with a minimum of effort. Therefore, television advertising of various drugs is very popular. If we hear on TV today that some medicine helps with everything, then tomorrow this medicine will certainly be sold out."

The paradox is that health for the Japanese is not a goal, but a means to work long and hard. The loss of a job for a Japanese is a tragedy associated with the exclusion from society and the loss of social benefits, including access to medical care, which is most often provided by the employer. Therefore, the most observed rule of centenarians is to make your brain work (or at least make your body go to work). Well, as for the other "habits of centenarians" – everyone chooses for himself: to drink or not, to laugh or frown.

They spend on healthcare (% of GDP, on average for 2006-2008):
Sweden: 7.2%
USA: 16%
China: 1.7%
Japan: 6.6%
Average life expectancy:
Sweden. Men – 77 years old, women – 82 years old.
USA. White men – 75.7 years, white women – 80.8 years. African Americans – 69.6 years, African–American women - 76.5 years.
China. Men are 72 years old, women are 73 years old.
Japan. Men – 78.7 years, women – 82.9 years.

If you have watched the cartoon "Shrek", you probably remember the remark of the main character: "Giants are like onions – they are also multi-layered." The consciousness of any person is also multi-layered: we say one thing, we do another, and at the same time we think the third. At least, it is worth sociologists with a questionnaire to go out to the people and ask people about a healthy lifestyle, it turns out a lot of interesting things. It is easy to verify this, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the data obtained by the Public Opinion Foundation.

Despite the fact that today they talk about a healthy lifestyle all the time, there is no scientific term of the same name. Doctors tend to believe that the notorious "healthy" lifestyle includes at least the following elements: a healthy diet, giving up bad habits, physical activity, hardening and a favorable environment. Everything is more or less clear with the doctors, they studied Shchepin, Zybelin, Sechenov, and are familiar with the existence of metabolism and the central nervous system firsthand.

The question is different: how do ordinary people imagine a healthy lifestyle? And how ready are they to follow their own ideas?

Taking care of health is… Contacting a doctor.

Every fifth Russian adheres to the strategy "thunder will not strike – a man will not cross himself". This means that taking care of their health is for them to consult a doctor in a timely manner. After visiting the reception and buying pills, they are ready to tick the box "health". Now you can breathe a sigh of relief and live until the next unpleasant symptom.

Movement and activity. Looking at these 15% of respondents, you can breathe a sigh of relief: we have those who regularly exercise. How exactly is another question: some visit fitness centers and gyms, others do exercises, run around the park in summer, and in winter break into a crowded bus with skis and sticks at the ready.

Activity in need. This group (9%) could also be considered adherents of an active lifestyle, if their activity did not turn out to be so specific. Walking the dog twice a day, as well as walking to the subway – this is their recipe for health and longevity.

Healthy eating. It would seem that America has been discovered. Respondents admit: yes, in order to be healthy, it is important to consume high-quality, fresh, healthy foods, as well as the right diet. But one has only to dig deeper, as it turns out: what are useful products, everyone represents in their own way. I immediately remember a boy I saw recently in kindergarten: he cried and flatly refused to eat oatmeal, claiming that he would only eat healthy and healthy food that his mother prepares for him. As it turned out, he meant sausages. However, the arguments about high-quality food products are broken down by an unapproachable price scale: almost half (44%) of Russians are guided by the price of the goods when choosing.

Giving up bad habits completes the people's list of ways to take care of health. These 8% include not only those who "don't smoke, and don't drink, and die healthy," but also those who want to, but still can't get rid of bad habits. Admittedly, the group is not numerous. Consequently, the remaining 92% refuse to notice the harmful effects of alcohol and cigarettes on their health.

Paradoxically, but all the wealth of our everyday ideas about health and possible ways to maintain it completely coincides with the ideas of doctors. This is a "plus" for us. It's just a shame that all this, in fact, true collective knowledge is scattered bit by bit, and everyone worships his own grain of truth.

Is prevention the best tactic?The slogan is good, but judging by the results of the survey, it is not about us.

About half of the respondents do nothing at all to avoid diseases. 16% are engaged in health only theoretically: they "watch programs about health on TV" and "read medical journals". 16% of respondents try to eat right, but most of them choose a diet at their own risk, without consulting a doctor. Only 11% undergo medical examination and regularly check their health. And to be honest, it is the latter who take real care of their health. That is, about one in ten. No more than that.

There can be long discussions about the reasons for this approach. The veil of secrecy is slightly opened when, according to national tradition, we begin to look for the culprit in our illnesses. Respondents could choose several answers from the list of suggested answers. The leader among the guilty was ... the state, which "stopped caring about the health of citizens." Of course, earlier the state forcibly drove everyone once a year to a scheduled medical examination: now we have to go on our own. Not good.

It is possible to understand those who blame the "general deterioration of people's lives in the country" for diseases, there are many such respondents. But the third most popular answer is "low qualifications and inattention of doctors" (again, we are not to blame for anything, these are all killer doctors).

In other words, at the moment less than a third of Russians feel personally responsible for their own health, while the rest are trying to find the extreme: the state, doctors, the machinations of evil forces. Maybe it's time to reconsider this approach and start controlling your own life? Moreover, it is quite obvious that in the coming years no one will take us under their wing – neither the state, nor medicine, nor a good wizard. We'll have to learn to take care of ourselves.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru08.04.2009