The non-nutritional factors of health & preventative health.

There are many non-nutritional factors that can impact our health. Three factors in particular are environmental factors, educational opportunities and income status.

Environmental factors
The proximity and ease of access to health services in our environment contributes to our health. Having decreased access to health services, for example through poor transport networks or distance, correlates to poorer health outcomes.

The ability to access good quality, nutritional food is largely controlled by our local environment. For example, rural areas and neighbourhoods with lower incomes have been found to have proportionally more fast food outlets, convenience stores and alcohol shops but more limited access to fresh and healthy food options.

The physical environment in which we live and work is also extremely important to our health. Clean drinking water and air, appropriate shelter and safe workplaces all play a role in our overall health.

Education opportunities

Better education has been linked to better health. Individuals who have been educated in health and healthy practices are more likely to make better choices when it comes to their own health. For example, they are more likely to understand the health problems related to smoking and excessive drinking and take steps to minimise these issues.

People with lower levels of education are more likely to fall into lower socioeconomic groups. This leads to the next non-nutritional factor—income status.

Income status

Having lower income levels can lead to difficulty in affording appropriate medical care, not being able to afford healthy food, higher financial stress levels and limited opportunity for exercise.

The World Health Organisation has confirmed that higher income levels and social status are directly linked to better health. It has also been observed that the greater the disparity between rich and poor, the greater the difference in health.

The benefits of preventative health versus curative health.

Preventative health aims to address potential health problems before they arise. Good nutrition and healthy lifestyle practices are some of the most important choices we can make to prevent disease and illness.

The importance of this is clear when we consider that many of the leading causes of mortality in Australia, for example heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, can be prevented through the implementation of healthy dietary and lifestyle improvements.

As well as the individual benefits of not succumbing to disease and illness, preventative health measures can benefit the economy by reducing the load on health care facilities.