Introduction to Community Services: Assignment

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY SERVICES
Introduction to Community Services
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY SERVICES
Introduction:
Australia is predominantly a western culture which has been significantly influenced
by the United Kingdom as well as the unique geography of Australia and the cultural inputs
from the Indigenous Australian communities who have inhabited the continent for thousands
of years (Meyrick et al., 2018). The lifestyle and patterns of consumption have seen
significant changes over the past few decades, and it has been at par with other developed
countries in the world with major international businesses operating from Australia. Studies
have shown that with the rapid urbanization and globalization, the consumption patterns and
lifestyle have also changed and have resulted in an increase in the incidence of lifestyle
related diseases (Germov & Poole, 2011).
The aim of this essay is to discuss the lifestyle and consumption of contemporary
Australians, and its relation to the health and wellbeing of Australians.
Discussion:
Some of the major diseases associated with lifestyle and consumption which are
prevalent across Australia include obesity, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, osteoporosis,
metabolic syndrome, asthma, cardiovascular diseases and some forms of cancer. According
to several studies, the risks of these diseases are closely associated with the lifestyle as well
as choice of food and consumption patterns of the people (Thorburn et al., 2014; Morris et al.,
2016). Discussed below are the consumption patterns and lifestyle choices which have
increased the risks of this disease among Australians.
Reduction in physical exercise, increase in sedentary time:
Modernization of jobs and implementation of technologies have resulted in the
reduction of manual work for most desk based jobs. The employees no longer need to move

2INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY SERVICES
much, and work can get done with the click of a mouse, sitting behind a computer. Although
this have resulted in the work becoming much faster, it also have resulted in the office work
becoming more sedentary, as the employees end up spending a long time sitting behind a
computer. Additionally, there also has been a growing trend among Australian families to
spend the evenings and weekends in front of the television screen, which further increases the
sedentary time spent by the family (Biswas et al., 2015; Jochem et al., 2018).
Consumption of fast food and junk food:
The popularity of fast food has been increasing in Australia for several years. All the
major fast food brands such as McDonalds, Domino’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hungry Jacks, Red
Rooster and Oporto have strong presence in Australia for quite some time and have become a
cultural significance. More and more schoolchildren now a day prefer to eat fast food. This
culture has also been propagated by the popular and mainstream media with the brands being
regularly advertised on television and media. As a result of which the rates of obesity,
diabetes and cardiovascular diseases still continue to be a major source of morbidity and
mortality across the continent (Harray et al., 2017; Boylan et al., 2017)).
Consumption of sugarated beverages:
Apart from Junk food, Australians are also major consumers of sugarated drinks such
as pop soda and canned fruit juice. Brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Tropicana have
significant market share in Australia and a very strong consumer base. Moreover, the major
consumers of these products are the Australian youth, such as school and college students.
Studies have shown that the sugarated beverages are one of the significant contributors of
obesity and diabetes, and hence it can also be concluded that the popularity of the sugarated
drinks in Australia is also an important contributor of morbidity and mortality in Australia
(Harray et al., 2017).