Biotechnology: Beneficial or Dangerous?

Assess how societal needs (i.e. the need for healthy foods; active lifestyles) lead to scientific and technological developments related to internal systems.


In a society where the population is continuously growing, there is also an increasing rate of obesity among North Americans. In Canada alone, there were over 10,000 deaths (10,271 to be exact) from heart disease, diabetes, stroke, fatty liver disease, blood clots, hearts attacks and a host of other obesity-caused illnesses in overweight/obese patients, in 2004 alone. That last statistic was only for the age group of 14- 44 so you can only imagine how many more Canadians died because of unhealthy eating habits. On the other hand, 74 people died of anorexia or bulimia during 2004 which really shows the dominating cause of death from the two.

An even more frightening statistic is that 1 in 4 Canadian teenage girls have an eating disorder, being compulsive eating, binges, or anorexia/bulimia. The American’s are even worse off with 1 in 3 teenage girls having an eating disorder. The real question here is why exactly have there been such large increases in the number of people suffering with eating disorders?

The Ronald McDonald Affect
In my head, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of obesity, is fast food restaurants, and specifically McDonalds. At some point in their life, about every Canadian has eaten McDonalds and can definitely admit that, it tastes really good. I am a big fan of fast food, but after a certain point, I get sick of it and actually WANT to eat healthier.

Our society is driven by wants rather than needs, so when a group of friends go out, they head to Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonald’s, and other fast food restaurants to get something to eat instead of getting something healthier like salads, smoothies, and fruits.

I found a really interesting link which was very helpful in understanding the affects of cholestoral on the entire body and what exactly happens in the veins and arteries when a clot is formed. You can view this video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBf59Z8tgA0

I think society has forgotten about what we need to stay healthy. There are numerous gyms and fitness clubs which offer their services to the general public, but this doesn’t change the fact that Canadians are continuing to life unhealthy lives. So a question to ask is, what is the driving force behind all this unhealthy behavior?

What’s being done today?
Today, innovators have to try harder than ever to make a healthier lifestyle available to the general public. The only industry in the world that makes profit with failure is the dieting industry which has been thriving under the rein of fast food and obesity.

Of course, today there are always new technological advancements that are created to make life easier. The problem of obesity can be solved by liposuction, facial “imperfections” can be fixed with “botox” and there’s always an option of getting work done to enhance specific parts of your body. But how harmful are these technological advancements on ones own body? I mean, how safe is it to leave plastic implants in your body for the rest of your life, or take out 30-40 pounds of body fat in one surgery at one time?

Perfection Obsession
I think that our society is constantly driven to achieve perfection, and with these unnecessary wants and needs, comes the need for quick medical solution to all our little problem areas.

The Safety behind Invasive Procedures, if any..
As I mentioned earlier, liposuction is a growing “solution” to being obese. People are simply too lazy to change their exercising habits or make healthier diet choices, so they lean towards doing what is easy: spending thousands of dollars to get rid of all that excess fat.


There are many side effects that people aren’t aware of. These include infection, fat or blood clots that can travel to the heart and lead to death, damage to the skin, nerves, vital organs, as well as many other complications that could occur from procedure itself. So really, how helpful are surgical practices when they cause so many side effects, with some of them including death?

I feel that invasive cosmetic surgery, liposuction, and generally changing your physically appearance is not an innovation that is truly beneficial to you with completely positive results. Of course there are technological advancements that have absolutely been beneficial to humans. Doctors are now able to perform tests and procedures on patients that are able to cure diseases and conditions that would improve their quality of life as well as how long they are able to live. I think this is such a great thing since so many lives have been changed and improved because of what man can do.

There is a new procedure called “Vibrating Arteries” in which doctors would use a vibrating catheter to gently break down the dangerous fat in veins and arteries. I feel this procedure will be especially beneficial in a society like ours because of the number of bypass surgeries that are needed to replace clogged veins leading to the heart with ones taken from the upper thigh. Another is called the “Burnt Laser” which uses the Doppler Affect to precisely diagnose burns, which could help in avoiding disfiguring scars. These are just two examples what of what technology is available out there to patients.

In Conclusion..
I believe that medical procedures are beneficial to patients. There are lifesaving operations done every day which truly benefit the patient and their families. Surgeons and doctors give people a chance to live and be with their loved ones. However, there are also procedures which can be deemed dangerous and harmful to one’s body. As there will always be good, there will be a negative aspect to it as well which is definitely not something a patient would want to live with for the rest of their lives.

As I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts, humans are very innovative and smart when they create technologies intended to better improve one’s lifestyle, however there are times when it is misused and negative affects occur, causing more problems than there were in the beginning.

Sources

http://www.docshop.com/education/cosmetic/body/liposuction/risks/

http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/health/Anorexia-Vs-Obesity-in-North-America.html

http://www.chiptaylor.com/srmn0496.html

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Top-4-Technological-Advances-That-Keep-off-Disease-73927.shtml

http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html

http://www.expandmywealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/fad-diets.JPG