Life Span Development

Question One- Effects of Drugs on a Man’s Reproductive System

A man who takes drugs, smokes, or drinks alcohol can harm a developing fetus in several ways. First, drugs enter the bloodstream of a man’s testicles and make it hard for the sperms to swim (Hamada et al., 2011) freely. In the end, the sperm is damaged. A damaged sperm can cause miscarriage to the fetus. A miscarriage often results in the death of the fetus or both the fetus and the mother. Another harm is the drugs, and alcohol affects the developing fetus weight such that when it is born, it is underweight, and may have other physical defects.

Thirdly, when a man is smoking, a pregnant mother is smoking indirectly, and the fetus also is inhaling the smoke. Children smoking second-hand smoke are likely to develop respiratory illnesses such as cough, asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Another possible harm for fetus born by smoking fathers is they are growing abnormally. The most common abnormal condition for such babies is the Down syndrome condition. The intelligence quotient of such babies is always lower than of babies born by fathers who do not smoke, take alcohol or drugs.

Question Two- Obesity

In my perspective, obesity is caused by several factors. The first cause is taking too many calories. However, the consumption effects of calories vary among individuals based on age, gender, psychological make-up, and genes (Galletta, 2019). Genes affect the metabolism of fats in one’s body. In terms of age as people age, their urge to calories lower; thus, they do not take many calories. It explains why there are more obese children and adolescents than adults. Also, still on age, adults’ rate of metabolism is much faster than those of children. In terms of gender, men have muscles that burn calories as compared to women. Also, culturally, men do hard work while women do light work. It explains the reason why women are more obese than men. Alongside calories, obesity is also caused by certain medications, underlying medical conditions, and the distribution of fats in the body. Distribution of fats around the waist poses a greater risk of obesity than when distributed around the hips and thighs.

The reasons why obesity data has doubled since 1980 is due to lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, and medical conditions. In the current era, people are not doing hard work as in the past; these days, people are doing more of online jobs than physical movement jobs. Thus, the body not engaged in physical activity, thereby causing obesity. Foods that people are eating are not the same as foods before 1980. Today’s food is full of calories that cause obesity. Also, many diseases have evolved due to these calories. These diseases also contribute to obesity.

The community can, therefore, change its eating pattern because eating contributes much to the formation of our bodies, and start doing physical exercises to burn calories that cause obesity. I would advocate for a healthy eating program as eating is the most prevalent cause. Healthy eating would not mean people to abandon the food they love but eat the required amount of food.  I would advise an obese friend to look into the types of foods they eat, start doing simple physical exercise, and seek medical check-up in case they have underlying medical conditions. This way, they will find a long term solution for the situation than just merely taking weight-loss drugs.

Question Three- The Right-To-die Movement

In my perspective, people should be allowed to die if they are in significant pain or if their illnesses are terminal. Reason being there is no need for such a person to continue suffering in the name of preserving their lives. To live means living in happiness and not sadness and if someone is experiencing pain all through, that is not life. Therefore, if someone is in great pain and wants to dies, they should be assisted to die.

The difference between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is related to who performs the act. In euthanasia, the medical professional, such as the doctor or the nurse, administers the lethal dose to the patient. Contrary to euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide involves the patient administering the lethal dose themselves but with the aid of the physician (Difference between.com, 2012). In this case, the physician only gives directions to the patient, and it is done out of the patient’s willingness.

In my opinion, euthanasia should not be made legal because physicians may start ending patients’ lives without accountable reasons. If a doctor feels that the patient cannot recover, and the patient is not willing to die, then the doctor should leave them to die naturally. On the other hand, physician-assisted suicide should be made legal because it comes from the patient’s willingness. Everybody has the power to decide what happens to their bodies. Also, only the patient knows the pain and suffering they are experiencing, and so, their decision to die should be respected.

References

Difference between.com. (2012, June 1). Difference between euthanasia and physician-assisted. Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-euthanasia-and-vs-physician-assisted/

Galletta, G. M. (2019, December 12). Obesity: Lifestyle, symptoms, causes, risk, treatment & diet. EMedicineHealth. https://www.emedicinehealth.com/obesity/article_em.htm

Hamada, A., Esteves, S. C., & Agarwal, A. (2011). Unexplained male infertility. Human Andrology, 1(1), 2-16. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.xha.0000397686.82729.09