Pandemics Gender and Risk Behaviors

Question: Discuss about thePandemicsfor Gender and Risk Behaviors. Answer: Obesity One of the major challenges in the healthcare system is the outbreak of pandemics. For a very long time, the global community has been subjected to lots of eating-related disorders such as obesity. In this paper, I would like to give a comprehensive review on obesity as one of the modern-day pandemics. The first point I would like to say about obesity is that the high prevalence of obesity has been contributed by the effects of globalization. The free movement of people, information, and resources across the world has led to the high rise in the cases of obesity in the country (Goryakin, Lobstein, James Suhrcke, 2015). The first way through which globalization has contributed to this pandemic is through the transfer of food products from one culture or region to another. This is true because there are certain multinational chain stores that supply fast food products like pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, sandwiches, and French fries. These foods are rich in starch or sugar. Besides, globalization has impacted peoples lifestyles and eating habits by disseminating information through the media (Costa-Font Mas, 2016). The exposure gotten through the media has made people to resort to unhealthy lifestyles such as the drinking of alcohol, preference of processed foods, eating of too much food, and drinking a lot of sugary beverages. People get influence to do so because it seems normal and fashionable. This is why I concur with the assertion that globalization has a direct impact on obesity. It has made it quite easy for people to interact, share values, traditions, beliefs, and practices that might negatively influence others. The other point I would like to discuss about obesity is that the prevalence of the disease differs from one gender to the other. The rate of obesity is higher in the females than males. I would like to agree with this observation because it is justifiable. Although obesity affects everyone, it is higher in the females because of environmental and biological reasons. The morphology of the females exposes them to obesity because of different reasons. To begin with, the female body has a capacity of storing more fat in the body than the males. Meanwhile, the females have lower chances of weight loss because of the metabolic changes that occur in their bodies during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause (Goryakin, Lobstein, James Suhrcke, 2015). The other factor that makes the females more vulnerable to obesity is the gender roles and economic factors in the society. Unlike their male counterparts, the females are exposed to lots of stressful situations that make them more susceptible to obesity. The females get stressed both at home and in the workplace (Di Cesare, et al., 2013). While at home, they do a wide range of stressful daily chores. In the workplace, women are subjected to discrimination and other forms of prejudice that further expose them to stress. These are the reasons why the rate of obesity is higher in the females than the male folk. Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) A part from the eating disorder pandemics like obesity, there is a category of pandemic called Sexually Transmitted infections (STIs) or Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). STD is a very common pandemic that currently affect people from all corners of the globe. These diseases are called sexually transmitted because they are contracted through sexual intercourse. It comprises of HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, hepatitis B, and trichomoniasis (Nuttbrock, Bockting, Rosenblum, Hwahng, Mason, Macri Becker, 2013). In my reflection, I would like to talk about the transmission of STDs as far as globalization and gender is concerned. First and foremost, I would like to point out that SSTIs is more prevalent in the females than males. The rate at which the STI diseases affect the females is higher than it does to their male counterparts. There are many reasons why this happens. Firstly, the females are more vulnerable to STIs because of gender roles in the society. Many people view females as sex tools that should be exploited no matter the cost. As dominant members of the society, the males can use their position to exploit the females sexually. Such exploitation can be done peacefully or coercively. The females can therefore easily contract the STIs because they can be raped by the males who, in most cultures, go scot-free. The other reason why the females are highly susceptible to STIs is their low economic status in the society. Despite the efforts made so far, the fact is that the females have not been fully-empowered. In order to get job opportunities, promotions, income, or any other favors, women might be tempted to engage in transactional sex (Binswanger, Mueller, Beaty, Min Corsi, 2014). Such a risky behavior can expose them to STIs because of lack of knowledge on the health status of their sexual partners. I would like to wrap up my reflection by pointing out that globalization has been playing a significant role in the spread of STIs across the world. Currently, people can nowadays freely move from one country to another. Although it is a good thing, the free mobility of people has been abused because, as it is today, not only laborers relocate, but sex-workers as well. This shows the magnitude of the contribution of human trafficking in the prevalence of the STIs across the world. Human trafficking leads to STI infection because the victims are forced to engage in sexual activities with the clients. It is dangerous to do so because it can spread the STIs to the sex-workers or patients. Once one person is infected with the STIs, it can be so easy to spread it to others because they engage in sexual intercourse with more than 10 people daily. Unfortunately, most of these sexual affairs are carried out without any form of protection. The trafficked sex prostitutes are forced to engage i n sexual activities by their owners without caring about their health (Nuttbrock, Bockting, Rosenblum, Hwahng, Mason, Macri Becker, 2013). Worse still; the neither check their health status nor that of their clients. Meaning, once a sex-prostitute is infected, it can spread the infection to hundreds of people before it is finally noticed. If not eradicated, human trafficking will still cause more harm in the society (Pope, White Malow, 2014). References Binswanger, I. 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American Journal of Public Health, 103(2), 300-307. Pope, C., White, R.T., Malow, R. (2014). HIV/AIDS: Global frontiers inprevention/intervention. New York: Routledge.