Lifestyle In Medicine (Critical Studies in Health and Society)

More and more emphasis is being placed on individuals to take responsibility for their own health. Lifestyle as an explanation for health and illness has become increasingly common in western societies, particularly for chronic conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and adult onset diabetes.
This book explores the lifestyle paradigm, which has resulted in social factors being included in medical and lay explanations of health and illness. Drawing on evidence-based analysis using original research the book demonstrates that lifestyle has a complex, shifting and uncertain place in professional medical accounts of the causes of both health and illness. As a new exploration of the subject it should be essential reading on medical sociology courses. The book has a strong theoretical base and is truly cross-national.