Society's Need for Fitness

In the 21st century people have definitely become more interested in learning about their health and well-being. As technology advances along with the interest associated with fitness, more and more people are becoming interested in the fitness equipment, as they try to lead healthier lifestyles. The human need for a fit body and exercise has lead to a wide development of technological inventions. In the late 19th century, the first mechanical fitness contraption was created, likely in response to this growing need. The mechanical horse was made by Gustav Zander and was created to help improve cardiovascular fitness. Zander himself argued that his new fitness contraption combated the evils of office life and becoming unhealthy. Zander brought the idea to the people that although medicine would temporarily help you, prolonged use of his machine and constant exercise would train people to lead a healthier lifestyle.

In present day, there are much more obvious technological advancements and we have come along way from the mechanical horse. A large percent of the population may owns a treadmill and simple weight machine in their own home. People are even prepared to spend large amounts of money to buy the ideal fitness equipment that will guarantee to keep them fit and healthy. The demand for fitness equipment has definetely been rising as we learn about the virtues of preserving good health and our bodies. People are also seen to have gym memberships where they pay regular fees in order to get access to sophisticated equipment. Socities needs have even spread to schools, in response to the growing fear of becoming unhealthy, it became mandatory for students to have daily physical activity in elementary school and at least one gym credit in high school.
Something else to consider is how social needs and awareness of the importance of organ donation has led to the improvement of techniques for transplanting various organs. An example of this is liver transplantation; there have definitely been many improvements throughout the years in this field. The current and most recent technique currently consists of orthotopic liver transplantation. This technique is proven to be the best because better stability is achieved during the anhepatic phase of surgery, transfusion is reduced, and the renal function is improved. Previous methods would not have been as efficient and effective, and the development of this technology would not have even taken place if people didn’t raise awareness about organ transplantations.

All in all, I think that society’s needs relating to health and well-being are all good. This is because it has to lead to much major scientific and technological advancement that help to improve our bodies and improve our health. Humanity needs to continue in this step in order to ensure that we can become a healthy society that is aware of the virtues of good health and have some knowledge of our bodies and how they function.

SOURCES

http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/history.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2020659/

http://boingboing.net/2008/05/08/origins-of-exercise.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/realestate/27posting.html?_r=1

http://articlescavern.com/healthandfitness/achieving-better-fitness-through-using-proper-fitness-equipment

http://www.fastdietfood.com/Article/getting-better-fitness-through-employing-suitable-fitness-equipment/14019

PICTURE SOURCRES

http://condos01.condontario.com/amenities/amenities.htm

http://classroom.kleinisd.net/webs/greenwoodforest/physical_education.htm

COMMENTS

Valerie - http://valerieszetosblogspot.blogspot.com/2011/05/dum-dum-dum-dummm-technology-to-rescue.html?showComment=1306511138160#c3725388425937366097

Claudia - http://claudia-d-123.blogspot.com/2010/12/first-in-canada-to-use-endoscopic.html?showComment=1306511600076#c3301829044674786411