Two weeks ago my boys came home from school with notes from their Spanish teacher. She was asking each child in her classes to bring in five or more soda cans by a certain date. These were to be used in a class project. For our family that was a pretty hefty request. I have two boys in her class. This meant I had less than two weeks to come up with ten soda cans. My family’s lifestyle does not include soda cans. We can’t afford them and we don’t want that much sugar just hanging around the house. If soda pop comes into our home it’s in the form of one two-liter every few months.
Now, if I’d been smart, I could have just knocked on a neighbor’s door and said, “Save me your pop cans”. Some days I’m not so smart. It was a bitter race to the very end. First, I kept forgetting to buy them. Then, we kept forgetting to drink them. Then, we drank more in just a few days than we normally would over several months. Tempers rose, sleep quality declined, and burping was frequent. It wasn’t a pretty sight around here. When it was all said and done my boys proudly took their pop cans to school.
The whole experience got me thinking. The teacher’s request really wasn’t unreasonable for the average family where I live. Most families here have two incomes, and they thrive on convenience and success. Soda is a staple, not a luxury to many.
My question then becomes: Just how much do our lifestyle choices affect our health choices?
Some things are more obvious. If you are struggling to make ends meet it affects your food choices and whether or not you seek healthcare.
What about more subtle things? If you work in a smoke-free environment, do you smoke more or less than you would if this weren’t controlled for you? If you’re an avid sale and coupon user, do you buy more convenience foods than you probably should since you can get them cheaper than other choices? If you grew up on a dairy farm are you now a milk lover or hater? Do you live in an area where you walk your children to school, or do you drive?
It seems to me some very subtle things can come into play. Lifestyle choices probably both help and hurt our “healthstyle”.
I’m throwing this one out to you- share one thing with me about your health choices that has been partly determined by your lifestyle.
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