Truth is an attractive construction, that’s all.

To know yet to think that one does not know is best;

Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.

It is by being alive to difficulty that one can avoid it.

Lao Tzu

Multiplicity of Cultural Identities

• An individual may “carry” several cultures, for example, ethnic or national, religious, and occupational affiliations. Thus, for any given individual, culture always comes “in the plural,” and therefore every interaction (including negotiation) between individuals is likely to be multicultural on several levels. Kevin Avruch, Culture as Context

“These chronic diseases are in the most part…entirely preventable”

Dr Lee Jong Wook-Director General WHO

Silent Killers- (LHI’s)LEADING HEALTH

INDICATORS1. Physical inactivity2. Overweight and

obesity3. Tobacco use4. Substance Abuse5. Responsible sexual

behaviour6. Mental Health7. Injury and Violence8. Environmental quality9. Immunization10. Access to Health Care

Factors in Aging

41% 30% 25%

65% 10% 22%

85% 13% 2%

85% 13% 1%

85% 14%

Alcohol consumption

Smoking and tobacco use

Mental activity

Diet and nutrition

Physical Activity

Very Somewhat Not Don't know

How important do you think each of the following factors is in how well a person ages?

Source: Longevity Poll, 2005Charlton Research Company for Research!America

Perceptions

• Help us make sense of the world. We fill in information to fit some pattern we know.

• Are not “right” or “wrong;” They just are.• Can limit our options for acting.• My perceptions make perfect sense to me. Your

perceptions seem like nonsense to me.• You don’t have to agree with someone’s

perceptions to understand and respect them.• Can be changed. We can learn from each other.

From Wellness to Selfness

Core competences: ability to• Eat healthy, take exercise, stay fit• Deal in balanced way with obligations and

dynamics of family life, partnership and professional career

• Make independent decisions in complex situations or crises

• Keep on learning and gaining awareness into old age

Americans Split on Increasing Life Span to 120 Years

47%

47%

6%

Agree

Disagree

Don't know

Some people say that within the next century, advances in medical research will increase human life expectancy to 120 years. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Source: Longevity Poll, 2005Charlton Research Company for Research!America

WHO REPORT 2004Cancer 7.1 million deaths/yr Majority LATE presentation

Cardiovascular diseases 16.7 million, or 30% of global deaths Hypertension- 1 out of 3 adults

Diabetes 177 million. (300 million by 2020)

Obesity and overweight has reached epidemic proportions overweight -more than 1 billion adults clinically obese. -300 million

Physical inactivity 2 million deaths worldwide annually

HIV EARLY VCT

“Early detection of diseases is arguably the most important step

in health-care management”

“THAT STEP IS OFTEN SKIPPED’ Larry Fields, Department of Health and Human Services

EARLY INTERVENTION

• Fitness• Smoking cessation• Nutrition and weight management• Stress management• Medical intervention

The five colours blind the eye.The five tones deafen the ear.

The five flavours dull the taste.Racing and hunting madden the mind.

Precious things lead one astray.

Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.

He lets go of that and chooses this.

Lao Tzu

Why study cross-cultural differences in sexuality?

• Gives us an appreciation for the enormous variation in sexual behaviour

• Helps us put our own standards, attitudes, and behaviours into context

• Provides us with evidence about the importance of culture and learning in shaping our sexual behaviours