4. Behavioral Medicine Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claim that half of the deaths in the US are due to people’s behaviors (smoking, alcoholism, unprotected sex, insufficient exercise, drugs, and poor nutrition). Psychologists and physicians have thus developed an interdisciplinary field of behavioral medicine that integrates behavioral knowledge with medical knowledge.
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9. The Stress Response System Canon proposed that the stress response (fast) was a fight-or-flight response marked by the outpouring of epinephrine and norepinephrine from the inner adrenal glands, increasing heart and respiration rates, mobilizing sugar and fat, and dulling pain.
10. The Stress Response System The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland also respond to stress (slow) by triggering the outer adrenal glands to secrete glucocorticoids (cortisol).
11. General Adaptation Syndrome According to Selye, a stress response to any kind of stimulation is similar. The stressed individual goes through three phases. EPA/ Yuri Kochetkov/ Landov
44. Do Programs Work? Prevention programs do have an effect on smoking. Paul J. Milette/ Palm Beach Post
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46. Body Mass Index (BMI) Obesity in children increases their risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, gallstones, arthritis, and certain types of cancer, thus shortening their life-expectancy.
50. Set Points and Metabolism When reduced from 3,500 calories to 450 calories, weight loss was a minimal 6% and the metabolic rate a mere 15%. The obese defend their weight by conserving energy.
51. The Genetic Factor Identical twin studies reveal that body weight has a genetic basis. The obese mouse on the left has a defective gene for the hormone leptin. The mouse on the right sheds 40% of its weight when injected with leptin. Courtesy of John Soltis, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
52. Activity Lack of exercise is a major contributor to obesity. Just watching TV for two hours resulted in a 23% increase of weight when other factors were controlled (Hu et al., 2003).
53. Food Consumption Over the past 40 years average weight gain has increased. Health professionals are pleading with US citizens to limit their food intake.
54. Trading Risks Although cigarette smoking has declined over the years in the Americas, obesity is on the rise.
55. Losing Weight In the US, two-thirds of the women and half of the men say that they want to lose weight. The majority of them lose money on diet programs.
56. Plan to Lose Weight When you are motivated to lose weight, begin a weight-loss program, minimize your exposure to tempting foods, exercise, and forgive yourself for lapses. Joe R. Liuzzo
OBJECTIVE 1 | List four leading causes of death and describe health psychology’s contribution to the field of behavioral medicine.
OBJECTIVE 2 | Discus the importance of appraisal in the way we respond to stressful events.
OBJECTIVE 3 | Identify and describe the dual-track system by which our body responds to stress, and give the three phases of the general adaptation syndrome.
OBJECTIVE 4 | Discuss the health consequences of catastrophes, significant lie changes, and daily hassles.
OBJECTIVE 5 | Discuss the role of stress in causing coronary heart disease, and contrast Type A and Type B personalities.
OBJECTIVE 6 | Distinguish between a psychophysical illness and hypochondriasis.
OBJECTIVE 7 | Describe the effect of stress on immune system functioning.
OBJECTIVE 8 | Discuss the findings on the link between stress and AIDS.
OBJECTIVE 9 | Discuss the findings on the link between stress and cancer.
OBJECTIVE 10 | Describe the impact of learning on immune system functioning.
OBJECTIVE 11 | Explain what it means to cope with stress, and contrast problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping.
OBJECTIVE 12 | Describe how a perceived lack of control can affect health.
OBJECTIVE 13 | Discuss the links among explanatory style, stress and health.
OBJECTIVE 14 | Describe some of the ways that social support acts as a stress buffer.
OBJECTIVE 15 | Explain the difference between coping with stress and managing stress.
OBJECTIVE 16 | Discuss the advantages of aerobic exercise as a technique for managing stress and fostering well-being.
OBJECTIVE 17 | Compare the benefits of biofeedback and relaxation training as stress-management techniques, and discuss meditation as a relaxation technique.
OBJECTIVE 18 | Discuss the correlation between religiosity and longevity, and offer some possible explanations for this link.
OBJECTIVE 19 | Explain why people smoke.
OBJECTIVE 20 | Discuss ways of helping smokers to quit smoking – or preventing young people from ever starting.
OBJECTIVE 21 | Discuss the adaptive advantage of a body that stores fat.
OBJECTIVE 22 | Describe some of the social effects of obesity.
OBJECTIVE 23 | Give arguments for and against the idea that genes determine body weight.
OBJECTIVE 24 | Discuss the chances of success for an overweight person to lose weight.
![Stress ,[object Object],When we feel severe stress, our ability to cope with it is impaired. Lee Stone/ Corbis](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)