The And Standards Of Health - 1748 Words

While social scientists have always been concerned with social change, there has been a rise in sociological interest in areas of health and medicine due to increasing concern for their widespread impact on society as a whole. One point central to this discussion is how it is that standards of what constitute healthy bodies, behaviors, and lifestyles are determined, and how these standards come to be accepted and subsequently enforced in various ways. This process of defining and imposing standards of health is a particularly important topic to examine, as medicine and standards of health are often perceived as being objective or detached from social considerations, when they can instead be inextricably linked to a range of social†¦show more content†¦It is also a prescribed state in that dominant views on what is healthy or unhealthy can only be determined by groups with legitimized authority, such as medical professionals or government bodies. These ideas of health are the n enforced at different levels, be it through social sanctions, institutional regulations, even through the legal system. Finally, there is support for Metzel’s idea of health as an ideological position in that health can be used to pass moral judgements and exclude the undesirable. It is also ideological in the sense that views on health can reflect or be used to further other beliefs or agendas. Even so, it is important to consider that although health is certainly connected to socially determined and prescriptive standards that may further social judgements and structures of inequality, mainstream standards of health should not be dismissed simply on this principle. Rather, scientific evidence should still be heavily considered in discussing how standards of health are to be determined, as well as the potential impact these standards may have. However, the point remains that the importance of questioning these views on health should be recognized, as the groups dictating t hem, the methods of their enforcement, and the ideologies involved do have greater social implications. To begin, Metzel first