Introduction
BROAD OPENING
– Utilizing the quote: ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’
• Quote covers the argument of the essay as it is aligned to the belief that lifestyle (which, in this context, is eating healthily – “an apple”) is essential in maintaining good health (not falling sick – “keeps the doctor away”)
• Grasps the attention of readers with the sense of familiarity of the quote
– Define the topic words stated in the question and give examples
• Lifestyle can be defined as the way a person chooses to live his/her life. This includes living habits, diets and sleeping patterns.
• Medicine in this context can be defined as supplements or vitamin pills that are taken to prevent or minimize the onset of diseases (e.g. vitamin C tablets, omega 3 pills, herbal leaf extracts)
• Good health is referring to one’s ability to carry out daily tasks without the hindrance or burden of physical illnesses and diseases
CONTEXT
– Introduce how in recent times, there has been an increasing number of people suffering from health problems
• E.g. obesity, diabetes, lung cancer
ISSUE & SCOPE
– Debate: Is lifestyle really the key to good health rather than medicine?
– Scope: Making a comparison between the health benefits brought about by lifestyle and medicine to identify which factor has more weight in being essential for good health
ASSUMPTIONS
– Either lifestyle or medicine; the two factors cannot both be ‘key’
– There is only one main factor for good health
KEY WORDS:
– Rather than: compare and contrast between lifestyle and medicine in terms of definition, purpose and utility
THESIS STATEMENT
It is largely true that the key to good health is lifestyle rather than medicine, especially so as researches and studies have shown how the way a person lives greatly shapes and affects one’s life.
BODY
Addressing Alternative Perspectives:
(1) Opposing Arguments:
However, some may argue that there are illnesses and diseases that are not caused by features of a certain lifestyle, but instead other factors like genetic inheritance and external and environmental factors that people have been greatly accustomed to.
Rebuttal/Concession:
There are such illnesses and diseases that inevitably occur due to other factors like genetic makeup or inheritance from family members, but this makes up but a small percentage of people who are suffering from such sicknesses.
Examples
– Diseases like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and hemochromatosis are monogenetic disorders that are usually passed down from one generation to the next
• Medication is necessary to treat these diseases
• Not possible to have been avoided with a different lifestyle as the genes for these diseases have already been included in one’s genetic makeup since birth
Presenting My Perspective:
(2) Topic Sentence: It can be said that the key to good health is lifestyle rather than medicine, as certain lifestyles lead to the development of some of the most prominent and prevalent illnesses in the world today.
Example:
– Fast food consumption leads to health problems like obesity and diabetes, and increases risk for diseases like coronary heart disease
• Fast food chains use a lot of oil, salt and other unhealthy ingredients, which results in high cholesterol foods
– Consumers make the choice to eat at these fast-food outlets as fast food
• Offers convenience – literally “fast food”; prepared within a short period of time and this is beneficial for people with fast-paced lives i.e. people in Singapore, New York, Tokyo etc
• Tastes good – appeals to consumers
– There is a greater prevalence of smokers in Singapore – more people have chosen to pick up smoking
• According to the 2010 National Health Survey (NHS) by the Ministry of Health Singapore, the percentage of smokers in Singapore has increased from 12.3% in 2004 to 14.3% in 2010
• An increasing rate of teen smokers (people who start smoking before the age of 21)
• Smoking greatly increases the risks of health problems like respiratory problem, lung cancer
Concluding Statement: As the different choices in lifestyle are direct factors affecting the health of people, good and wise choices brings about good health, hence lifestyle is thus the key to good health.
(3) Topic Sentence: It can be said that the key to good health is lifestyle rather than medicine, as certain lifestyles lead to the development of some of the most prominent and prevalent illnesses in the world today.
Example:
– Fast food consumption leads to health problems like obesity and diabetes, and increases risk for diseases like coronary heart disease
• Fast food chains use a lot of oil, salt and other unhealthy ingredients, which results in high cholesterol foods
– Consumers make the choice to eat at these fast-food outlets as fast food
• Offers convenience – literally “fast food”; prepared within a short period of time and this is beneficial for people with fast-paced lives i.e. people in Singapore, New York, Tokyo etc
• Tastes good – appeals to consumers
– There is a greater prevalence of smokers in Singapore – more people have chosen to pick up smoking
• According to the 2010 National Health Survey (NHS) by the Ministry of Health Singapore, the percentage of smokers in Singapore has increased from 12.3% in 2004 to 14.3% in 2010
• An increasing rate of teen smokers (people who start smoking before the age of 21)
• Smoking greatly increases the risks of health problems like respiratory problem, lung cancer
Concluding Statement: As the different choices in lifestyle are direct factors affecting the health of people, good and wise choices brings about good health, hence lifestyle is thus the key to good health.
Conclusion
CONDENSED SUMMARY
Lifestyle choices play an important role in a person’s life and greatly impact one’s health. For one to have good health, it is essential for one to have a correct and healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle is of more importance than medicine, as medicine is a short-term solution to prevent illnesses and diseases which may or may not be effective, while lifestyle is more of a long-term factor that greatly affect one’s health and life for a long period of time.
ENDING
It is vital for one to lead a healthy lifestyle to have good health.