Chapter 1 A Question to Ponder
             Your reading identifies four major components of health literacy. What do each of these components do to reinforce health literacy? Why do you think health literacy was made part of the National Health Education Standards?
             The four major components of health literacy are critical thinking and problem solving, self-directed learning, effective communicating, and being a responsible citizen. Critical thinking and problem solving can help you make good health-related decisions. Self-directed learning can help you gather, analyze, and apply health information to meet your personal needs. Effective communicating helps for others to learn about health. Being a responsible citizen helps to keep yourself, your family and friends, and your community healthy.
             I think health literacy was made part of the National Health Education Standards because it helps to make your health and the health of others better.
             Chapter 1 Health Statistics
             Over the years life expectancy has changed considerably, due in large part to medical advances and changes in people's attitudes and behaviors. The National Center for Health Statistics monitors this data regularly and issues updates on a periodic basis. To check the latest data on life expectancy, go to the Center's website (www.cdc.gov/nchswww) and select "Fastats." Go under "L" and look up "life expectancy." What is the average life expectancy for all Americans? Men? Women? Now go to the "Comprehensive Data" and break the life expectancy data down by Race and Sex. Do you note any differences in the life expectancies of individuals based on these factors? If so, what do you think explains these differences?
             The average life expectancy for all Americans is 76.5. The average for American men is 73.6 and for women it's 79.4. There are differences in the life expectancies of diffe
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