There are many different types of advertising that we use. Some include, informative advertising, and misleading or deceptive advertising.
Informative advertising provides the potential buyer with useful information about the product.If you are trying to sell medications they show the purpose of the drug and side effects.
Misleading or deceptive Advertising intentionally deceives or confuses the consumer. An example of this is when they say studies show the superiority of the product, but realistically they do not exist.
Advertising Tricks and Techniques (P.186)
Weasel words
They create and illusion of a promise, but permit the adviser to "weasel out" of the deal.
Example: "Loose up to 30 pounds a month" (Wont a loss of zero pounds be in this range?)"
Attention grabbers
These are phrases or words that are powerful when advertising. They grab the listener or viewers attention quickly.
Example: "All Natural" "Money-back guarantee"
Visual Image
This is a time-tested method of promoting products. They can also enhance imagery by linking it with a auditory cue, like those commerical that have picture, but also have a song with it.
Comedy
A lot of the time advertisers like to add humor to their ads. This way it grabs your attention and you remember it. Also it is more likely that you will tell someone else about it.
Marketing to Children
Many children learn from about various information from what they see from the media.
When children see advertisements on commercial or even in shows, most of the time they tell their parents about it because it is something they want. On the children channels, people always put advertisements of toys, food, and clothing sales. According to the text it states "A large number of television ads are targeted to children are for food, candy, presweetened cereal, soft drinks, and fast food. A tiny minority of these commerical promote healthy foods (P.197)." Movies are often used to promote products. Toys that are associated with movies are stuffed with children's meals and fast food restaurants.
Marketing contributes to many problems facing children today
Marketing directly to children is a factor in the childhood obesity epidemic.
Marketing also encourages eating disorders, precocious sexuality, youth violence and family stress and contributes to children’s diminished capability to play creatively.
As young children are developing their gender identities, they are flooded with ads for products promoting sexualized stereotypes. There are 40,000 Disney Princess items on the market today.
Violent movies, like Spiderman and Transformers, market toys that promote violence to boys.
This video is really interesting! Ever wonder why food looks so good on television? This video shows how they make it look better than it is in person.
"The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and sexuality of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nations food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation"
US Enviornmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/
"They protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment-air, water, and land- upon which life depends."
US Department of Agriculture http://www.usda.gov/
"Provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science and efficient management"
Reflection Question After watching both videos and reading the lecture material located here, how will the information help you to protect yourself and become a better consumer in the future?
I have learned that advertisements make the product better than what it is. Often they use catchy phases, so it is important to understand and think about the things they say. When an advertisement grabs my interest I will research it more than what the information provided. Sometime the product states information that provides brief information that only lists the positives of the product. It is recommended that we should avoid unnecessary health expenses. Also as a consumer I have learned many different ways to help keep myself safe and healthy in the future.
Participation
One thing I learned in this session that I may be able to use in the future is the different ways businesses preform advertisements. This will be used in the future because I am really interested in weight loss. So those pills that have say "Lose up to 30 pounds" I learned that that could also mean 0 pounds. They use words that get you to buy their product. Now I know the phrases they use to get people's attention.
The semester is quickly coming to a close. I want you to look at all of your grades in discussions, quizzes and journals and reflect on the following: I did awesome on all of the discussions and journals!
What did you find the most difficult about this course? I found the quizzes the most difficult because I couldn't reflect on it. Multiple choice questions are always the most difficult for me.
What did you enjoy the most about this course? I of course enjoyed the learning journals. This is because I could reflect on what I learned. Also I could use my creativity on these as well.
If you feel that everything has gone well, what is it that helped you to achieve success?
I feel like taking this online course was a great choice. I love that I could do the assignments when I had time. Also reading the text book helped me achieve my success.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Dietary Supplements
What are dietary Supplements?
"According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration, a product is a dietary supplement if it meets all of the following conditions..."
*The diet contains one or more of the following: vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanical, amino acids, or combination of the fallowing ingredients.
*It is intended to be taken in tablet, capsule , powder,soft gel, gelcap, or liquid form.
*It is not represented for use as a conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or diet.
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)
This is a federal law that has a regulation of dietary supplements. They limit the FDA's ability to regulate these products. Also they can protect the ingredients that are useless and harmless. This act prohibits the FDA from banning suspicious ingredients as well. http://www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements/ http://www.medicalook.com/Nutritional_supplement/
According to this graph, it shows the satisfaction
between people who are satisfied with them and who
is not. It shows that the majority of people are very satisfied
with these supplements. Very few show that they are not
satisfied with them.
Vitamins and Miners are basic nutrients that are necessary to sustain life.
They are very important to have in our diets. "Some of these are necessary
for normal growth and development, digestion, infection and enabling the body to use
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for energy, They also act as catalysts, initiating or speeding
up chemical reactions (p.141)." The supplements are sold in drug stores and grocery stores. They have been around for years. It has helped improve peoples health by getting the nutrients they need. Even though this is a supplement, people can obtain their nutrition from food. People don't need to take vitamin pills to get their daily nutrition. If people take these pills all the time, their bodies will depend on them. The best way to get your daily vitamins and minerals is by food. Fruits and vegetables are the best ways to obtain certain types of vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins are healthy to take and don't put harm on your body. There are some people who should consider taking vitamin or mineral supplements. Some of these include, vegetarians, people with poor diets, pregnant women, young children, smokers, heavy drinkers, and elderly people.
Weight Management
Obesity is has became such an issue in today's world. It is one of the biggest health issues that we deal with everyday. Those that experience being overweight can experience issues like, type two diabetes, hypertension, liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. A lot of this is associated with the way parents are raising their children. Most families are influenced by technology and this is the reason why children are becoming overweight. Back in the day when we didn't have so much technology, we went outside and played with friends. Now, we text them or go inside and play video games. This has caused a decrease in exercise for children. Also our world is so dangerous that some families don't even want their children to walk outside with a parent. The way we prepare our food today has also became an issue and has lead to an increase of obesity. We have all of these fast food restaurants and all of these packaged snacks that we send our children to school with. What happen with home made meals?
Recommendation's for Weight Control
Each pound contains 3,500 calories. To loose one pound, they would have to reduce the number of calories consumed and/or increase the number of calories burned by a total of 3,500. Exercise is crucial to maintain weight or even trying to loose weight. Activity burns calories. Regular activity increases resting metabolism that burns more calories even when at rest. Diet is also big. Having a controlled healthy diet will help maintain weight.
Commerical Weight Loss programs
These programs are seen on T.V and usually they show before and after pictures to help market themselves. Some of these well known programs are, Weight Watchers, eDiets, Health Management Resources, OPTIFAST, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem. These each offer a variety of programs. The program that stuck out to me the most was Weight Watchers. This is because I have many relatives that have done this program and have been very successful.
It is based a on a point system. Each person is evaluated and given a certain number of points that they can eat a day. Grocery stores sell many products from this company to help people with their weight loss. Every food have a point value, this number is based on calories and total number of fat grams and dietary fiber. This program attempts to control calories by focusing eating from all of the food groups. The membership free is 29.00 weekly and 10.00 per meeting. So it does consider an investment into your money. If you loose your goal weight you no longer have to pay for your membership anymore.
Fad diets
"A Fad diet is a diet that has little to no nutritional value or scientific credibility and that usually has short term popularity (p.177)." Most people on these diets focus on quick weight loss. Yes it will help with quick weight loss, but it is not healthy. You will end up gaining more weight back. Some of these fad diets we have heard of are, Cabbage soup diet, Grape fruit diet, Low carb diet, and negative calorie diet. Instead of these Fad diets, WebMD give us strategies for loosing weight...
Simple Strategies for Losing Weight
The best diet is not a diet at all but a way of life that includes food you enjoy, exercise, and healthy habits.
Eat a variety of foods -- lean protein; complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; and "good" fats, like omega-3 fats from fish and monounsaturated fats from avocados, nuts, and olives or olive oil.
Say NO to bad fats: minimize how much saturated fat you get from animal sources, and eliminate trans fats from the fried foods, snacks, and fast food products you eat.
Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Choose different colors of fruits and vegetables to ensure optimal nutrition.
Be careful about portion sizes. If you must have seconds, serve yourself vegetables.
Exercise at least 150 minutes each week with a moderately intense activity like brisk walking. This can be divided into smaller blocks of time. For example, you could do a brisk walk for 10 minutes three times a day for five days to reach 150 minutes.
Clean out the kitchen and eliminate all junk food. Toss out high-calorie, high-fat, sugary foods that will tempt you to overeat -- chips, cookies, crackers, ice cream, candy bars, and the like.
Fill your kitchen with lean protein, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, good fats, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products.
Eat smaller meals more frequently. Five to six per day may be best. Space your meals every three to four hours throughout your day. Try taking low fat cheese and whole grain crackers to school or work for a snack, or eat a tablespoon of peanut butter with one slice of whole grain bread. Find foods that are healthy and that keep you full.
If you like lots of food on your plate, fill up with a large salad and a super serving of green beans, broccoli, cabbage, kale, or other low calorie vegetable.
Snack on berries. Dark berries (blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and raspberries) are rich in healthy antioxidants. They are also low in calories and fat and high in fiber.
Avoid "empty calories" including sugar-containing sodas and fruit drinks
Based on the BMI chart in your text, what can you do to maintain your current BMI or decrease your BMI? Do you feel that your BMI is correct?
According to the BMI chart on page 160, it says I am obese. I am 64 inches and weight 180lbs. I have always had more muscle then fat on my body. This is because I was an athlete. I was a gymnast, I am made of muscle. My doctor told me to not look at the BMI because it is not always true. They do not encounter your muscle weight or anything else. How can I decrease my BMI? Since I have been in college I have gained about 20lbs. This is because I wasn't as active. I stopped gymnastics my senior year of high school. So if I was more active, It would help me loose weight. This would make my BMI decrease. I don't think I am obese. I have a thin stomach, I just have bigger bottom half. My legs are all muscle.
Participation/Discussions
I think I do a great job with the discussions! I like to look up information and show other people. Therefore they learn something too! All of my grade for the discussions have been awesome. The only improvement I would make personally, is my time management. I am always rushing to get my work done because I leave it to the last minute. One thing that I do well though is I still put the amount of effort into my discussion as I would if I did them in the beginning of the module.
** Just a thought... I think that we should be able to see other students blogs! It may help others to learn the information. I know I provide awesome blogs that I would want others to see and learn from!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Medications
Prescription Drugs
These are drugs that have to be given the right
to use them in order to buy them. You would have to go to your doctor to get a prescription. He has to okay it, and give you the signed prescription paper.
Generic Prescription Drugs
These are drugs that also have to be given the right by the doctor to prescribe it to you.Generic drugs have all of the same ingredients in the name brand drug. The only difference in these drugs is the appearance. It has a different label, color, shape, and name. Also these drugs are a lot cheaper than the name brand drugs.
On page 92 in our textbooks, it states the requirements that a generic drug must have. Some of these include...
*Must show that the drug delivers the same amount of active ingredient in the same time frame as the original product does.
*The FDA requires generics to have the same quality, strength, purity, and stability as the brand name drugs.
*The FDA requires that all drugs to be safe and effective and that their benefits out weigh their risks.
*The FDA will not permit drugs to be made in substandard facilities. The agency conducts about 3,000 inspections a year to ensure standards are met.
Counterfeit Drugs
These are drugs that are sold falsely under brand names. The packaging is very similar to the original, but they do not provide the true information. "Counterfeiting can include sticking fraudulent labels on expired drugs, filling vials with water, and putting adulterants like chalk into medicine packets. Many counterfeit drugs originate outside the US with India and China being prominent sources(p.96)." http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/CounterfeitMedicine/default.htm
Only buy from state-licensed pharmacy websites located in the U.S.
Don't buy from websites that sell prescription drugs without a prescription.
Don't buy from websites that offer to prescribe a drug for the first time
without a physical exam by your doctor or by answering an online questionnaire.
Check with your state board of pharmacy or the National Association of
Boards of Pharmacy to see if an online pharmacy has a valid pharmacy license and
meets state quality standards.
Look for privacy and security policies that are easy to find and easy to
understand.
Don't give any personal information—such as a social security number, credit
card information, or medical or health history—unless you are sure the website
will keep your information safe and private.
Use legitimate websites that have a licensed pharmacist to answer your
question.
Make sure that the website will not sell your personal information, unless
you agree.
Dispsposing Un-Used medicines
It is very important to dispose unused or expired medicines properly. This is because if they are thrown away or flushed down the toilet, they can get into our septic systems and may get into the water supply. "This can result in human consumption of small amounts of drugs. " http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm101653.htm
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Conventional Medicine
"undergone extensive testing in multiple trials and has been shown to exceed some agreed-upon standards of safety and effectiveness. It is practiced by holders of Doctor of Medicine (MD)."
CAM- Complimentary and Alternative Medicine
"Alternative medicine is any of a wide range of health care practices, products and therapies, using methods of medical diagnosis and treatments which, at least up to the end of the twentieth century, were typically not included in the degree courses of established medical schools teaching western medicine in the tradition of the Flexner Report or similar.Examples include homeopathy, Ayurveda, chiropractic and acupuncture.
Complementary medicine is alternative medicine used together with conventional medical treatment, in a belief, not proven by using scientific methods, that it increases the effectiveness, or "complements", the treatment.CAM is the abbreviation for Complementary and alternative medicine. Integrative medicine (or integrative health) is the combination of the practices and methods of alternative medicine with evidence-based medicine." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_medicine
Lecture Question
What type of alternate medications have you tried or would you consider trying? How did you prepare or would you prepare for it?
I have not tried any alternate medications. I would consider trying it. If it was to help and relieve stress I defiantly would! I know my aunt has done acupuncture and she said that it worked really well. To prepare for this I would make sure I did my research and pick a doctor that will be beneficial to me. Then I would go in with a positive attitude and hope to come out with positive results!
Reflection
I think I am doing really well this semester. I have turned all my work in on time. The only thing I would really improve on would be my time management. Even though I turn my work in on time, I do leave it to the last minute. Therefore a few days before the module ends, I stress. Not only in this class, but every class. Procrastination has defiantly got me!! I do look forward to completing the learning journal. This is because I like to look up videos and information and put it to use! I really learn very well from this! Also I have learned to complete the learning journal before the quiz. I have noticed that my grade is much better doing!
Monday, February 25, 2013
Health Fraud
Health Fraud
What is health Fraud? "International act perpetrated to be deceptive in order to gain something of value. It is usually and act of greed. The FDA defines the term health fraud as "articles of unproven effectiveness that are promoted to improve health well being, or appearance (p.47)."
There are so many medicines that claim they can improve something. They "prove" that these products work through advertisement. Of course many people are going to believe that these will work, but many people do not research the product before they buy it. This is a good example of a bad consumer. Being a good consumer would research everything about the product, including ingredients before making a final decision of buying it.
There are so many different types of health fraud. Some of these include, weight loss fraud, fitness fraud, HIV/AIDS fraud, Sexual enhancement products, and many other different scams.
One of the most common fraud's that many people believe is weight loss fraud.
Majority of the United states is over weight or obese. Being skinny like the models in magazines is every ones dreams. Therefore people will do what ever it takes to be thin and beautiful like them. If a product comes out and claims it will make you loose weight. Many people will believe it by the advertisements, but don't research it to see what they don't tell you outside of the AD. Sometimes there can be ingredients that may not be good for you as well. Don't trust a weight loss product unless you have talken to a doctor or have done follow up research!
Health Quackery
"Quackery is pejorative term describing health practices or remedies that have no compelling scientific basis. It is a form of health fraud, may or may not be international."
An example from the textbook of a quackery is ...
"Breast enhancement products have flooded the market. For about $80, consumers can purchase packaged herbs, none of which actually increase breast size. A distributor for Volume-Bust Creme promises, "in two weeks you will have bigger, firmer breasts" and charges almost $34 for 1.7 ounces of the product. Cleavage 4 contains aloe Vera, tea, honey, and natural oils and claims to produce an increase "of 1/2 to 2 cup sizes in 8 weeks." Cleavage 6 breast enhancement capsules , about an ounce costs nearly $80. The breast pump enlarger was marketed for $10 in 1976. Four million women purchased the device. Covering her breasts with the cups- all in a large size- the woman would pup a pedal with her foot. The pedal was connected to the cups by plastic tubing. The enlargement in breast size was because of bruising (p.52).
How will you avoid being a victim of a quackery?? I know the rule..."if it's too good to be true then it probably isn't." Most of the time I talk with my doctor before using a new medicine. Even though there is no science to prove it, there is plenty of information on the website that could help you know if the product works or not! Avoidance of being a quackery is simple, have common sense, do research, and talk with a doctor! Also know that if it is too good to be true then it probably is not true!
Health Reform-2010
President Obama signed the health care and Education Reconciliation Act. "This act made some changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that had been signed into law a few days before (p.68)."
What is the HCERA/PPACA??
It mandates that U.S citizens and legal residents be covered by some form of health insurance. It has helped people who retire early. Also they do scholarships for college students and loan rep payment programs.
What is COBRA?
"It provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses and dependent children the right to temporary continuations of health coverage at group rates (p.79)."
Because I didn't really understand what health insurance really was, I watched this video! It really helped me understand it!
Reflection
This module I lacked a lot! I left everything to the last minute because I had a busy two weeks. Because of this, I felt really stressed and not accomplished. I still managed to get everything done on time and well. It was kind of difficult with the discussions this week because only two other people posted discussion questions. So I couldn't pick which topics I wanted to respond to. There was no other choices, so I had to respond to the only two that posted. Also people who do post discussion questions do not really back up any of their questions with additional information that I could respond and reflect on. So I had to provide them with information. It didn't really feel like I was having a discussion with anyone or learning any new information in someonelse's discussion question.
I have noticed doing the learning journal before the quiz is really beneficial. It is like a review of the chapters before taking the test. Also it helps me understand topics better because I get reflect and elaborate on certain topics in the chapters.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Being a Good Consumer
Being a good consumer means being responsible for own health. This means actions that we take in our every day lives. For example, grocery shopping, every day shopping, information evaluations, choosing your doctors, website information, and more. How can we become more responsible with our designs in this area? Easy! Make good choices that are beneficial to you!
Characteristics of Good Consumers * They are skeptical and demand evidence of claims * They are socially aware *They are environmentally aware *They shop for economy *They seek reliable sources of information *They are patient *They communicate effectively *They select health care practitioner carefully and use practitioners wisely *They practice good health habits, taking a practice role in their health *They take an active role in the management of their health problems *They read and understand contracts *They report unethical or fraudulent practices
(Pages 5 and 6 Consumer Health Textbook)
How can we become a better consumer when shopping? Many people go shopping for entertainment and for social interactions. Usually when you shop, you see something you like and buy it. Ways to prevent this is to keep your wallet at home and just window shop with your friends. That way you have no way of buying it at that moment.
Bringing children while grocery shopping is a big NO NO!
Grocery shopping is always a big money spender. Often people are not sure how to save money and don't know where the cheapest food is. A good way to eliminate the amount of money you spend on groceries is making a list and sticking to it. Also going to a grocery store hungry doesn't help either. There are cheaper places to get fruits and vegetables other than going to Wegmans. Make a change and go to a Farmers Market, they are much cheaper.
Evaluating Information "Intelligent consumers search out information generated by legitimate medical and scientific studies, rather than well-known people who are given a podium because of their fame or a publishing contract because their celebrity attracts sales. Conscientious consumers carefully search for information about health- related services and products ( p7.)"
Web as an Information Source
Ways to be a good consumer for looking information up on websites are.... * Check out sponsor sites *Be skeptical *Determine the sites objectives *Find out if the information is current *Check out the domain suffix *Look for original source of material *Look for the web sites linking policy *Familiarize yourself with the sites personal information
Choosing a Primary Care physician Choosing a doctor is very important. There are so many, but you want to be sure that you have a doctor that is well knowledge and reliable. Sometimes it is not always easy to find a person on your own, but asking others for advice can help! There are important things to find out about your doctor's office when making a decsion. Some good questions to ask is... Is the doctor in my insurance plan? When the doctor is away who will take his patients? Will he take care of my children as well?
The American Health Care Systems
.In the United States we have so many health departments that specialize certain parts of the body! There are also different types of hospitals. For example Community hospitals, Emergency rooms, Urgent care, Children hospitals, and more.
Quality of Care in America "Many Americans believe that they live in a nation that deivers the best, most comprehensive health care in the entire world. They would be mistaken. While it may be true that the United States has some of the best equipped hospitals and the best trained physicians in the world, the system falls short of what is attainable ( The commonwealth Fund, 2008)." (p22) In today's world, life expectancy has increased greatly. This is because of the health and medicine inventions we have today. The World Health organization evaluated the health care and delivered it to 191 nations. They had goals that the health system should do. *Good Health "Making the health status of the entire population as good as possible" *Responsiveness "Responding to peoples expectations of respectful treatment and client orientation by health care providers" *Fairness in financing : Ensuring financial protection for everyone.
The U.S has the most expensive health care system in the world.
March 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. This was to help reduce the number of people who were uninsured by health care. They're goal was to make employee coverage more affordable. Also those that are uninsured he was trying to make it more affordable.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO's)- These are for- profit organization. They are free based on their coverage.
Reflection
I think I did really well with the discussions. For each of the discussions I looked up information online to share it with other people so they would learn something. I really like that you comment on the discussion questions. This way I know what I have to work on and what I did well on. Discussing the chapters with other people really helps me learn information better. Also it allows you to reflect and think about the topic. My favorite part about this online class is the learning journal because I can be creative while reflecting on what I learned in the chapters.
Indemnity Insurance: A type of health insurance that requires the subscriber to pay certain charges, such as copayments and deductibles, and which allows the insured to choose his or her own health care provider.
Placebo: substance used in medical treatment that has no pharmaceutical effect on the problem it is being used to treat.
Rheumatology: diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the joints, including arthritis and autoimmune diseases.
