Caring too much is deadly for women

Sunday, 19 November 2006

Caring too much for others and failing to take care of ourselves could potentially be deadly. Said the health experts who presented at The International Council on Women’s Health Issues (ICOWHI) this week.

According to an article at Physorg.com, Associate Professor Patricia Davidson from the University of Western Sydney’s School of Nursing and co-convenor of the ICOWHI Congress said that a range of forces like work and family pressures are placing extra stresses on women’s health and well being – putting us at higher risk of diseases and illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

“There is an inherent resilience among women which has served them well, but rapid social changes have placed an increasing burden on women which threatens their individual health, and global trends of increasing life expectancy,” said Associate Professor Davidson.

“Statistics reveal that worldwide, women now make up a third of the labour force, but perform two thirds of the working hours for just a tenth of the income.

“Although greater social participation has brought some advances in women’s health and well being, there remain clear inequities for females from birth to death,” she says.

“Globalisation has increased access to education, information and resources – enhancing the position of women in society – but the blurred gender roles have left women continuing to carry the burden of primary care givers in the family and in society.”

Associate Professor Davidson said in the past there has been a preoccupation with women’s reproductive health, but now women’s health issues around the world are more wide ranging particularly in the increasing rate of chronic diseases.

And while female life expectancy remains greater than males, women are increasingly falling victim to the consequences of the negative side of a modern lifestyle – obesity, decreased physical activity and smoking – with the deadly result being heart disease.

Read the full article at Physorg.com.