Some people say that the best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of sport facilities. Other, however say, that this would have little effect on public health and other measures are required.
Discuss both views and provide our own opinion.
In the recent decades the decreased level of physical activity partially attributed to technological advances had a detrimental effect on people's health.
Some groups believe that the deteriorating public health can be augmented with the raised number of
sports facilities while others contend that this development will have next to no effect on the population's well-being.
This essay will discuss both approaches and provide relevant examples to highlight their legitimacy.
On the one hand, building of new sports and recreational centers will increase the level of their accessibility for the public in general.
Elderly, young and underprivileged people, who otherwise might be deterred from the sports centers due to the distance and lack of transportation,
will be able to have the facilities in a walking distance and might gain an easy access to activities of their interest. For example, people who are unable to drive due to advanced age or
other restrictions, would be able to reach the nearby center and would be given a chance to improve their health and welfare through appropriate physical activity under professional supervision.
Based on this example, enlarging the number of health centers might be highly beneficial to the well-being of the general population.
On the other hand, deterioration in individual's health could not be attributed solely to the lack of exercise incurred by scarcity of sports centers.
There has been no evidence of substantial improvement in public health level in the areas with high density of sports centers. As an example,
introduction of built-in gyms into Hi-Tech companies has not changed the number of sick days taken by company's employees.
Since their sedentary lifestyle and slack attitude towards physical activity has not been changed,
gyms were populated with the same people who worked out in different places prior to introduction of the in-house health center.
This exemplifies that the goal of public health improvement can not be adequately achieved by raising the numbers of relevant facilities and a holistic approach that will cause a change in people's attitude is advisable.
In conclusion, the problem of amending the current state of people's health requires complex approach and cannot be concurred by sheer number of facilities alone. In my opinion,
while creating new centers and improving the range of the services in the existing facilities might have some positive effect,
a holistic approach that combines mind and body is required and it might yield better results in improving overall level of public health.