Culture & Global Health

Culture is a system in every society that is difficult to explicitly define. It does, however, include religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, ethical beliefs, and so much more. A country's culture determines how health is defined, how diseases are cured, and what measures of treatment should be used in various situations. Sometimes these cultures positively affect the health of a country, but other times, like in Germany, the country's people can experience detrimental effects. For example, in Germany alcohol is widely-accepted. The drinking age is relatively low (18 compared to the United States' 21). Many people drink in public and are not afraid to do so. I can remember times in the U.S. where people who drank would have their bottles wrapped in a brown paper bag. Even then, when the drink is legally covered, they were apprehensive to take even a sip. Smoking is also widely-accepted, or it is, at least, more prevalent in Germany. In the U.S. you can come across the average smoker here and there, but it seems as though everyone smokes in Germany. They smoke everywhere and in front of everyone (kids and pets included)! Because of this wide-acceptance, I assume that the number of healthy livers and lungs in Germany is relatively lower than in countries where the drinking age is higher and smoking is less prevalent. These observations, while small, have led me to the belief that the ethical norms and beliefs in one’s society heavily influences the health of that country. If society has a “normal” view towards things that negatively affect the people, then a less than healthy population should be expected. This is not too surprising to me. What you do in your daily life will eventually come back and affect your health in one way or another. If you walk 10 miles a day, you are likely to have a better heart than someone who smokes 10 times a day.