Your Health Today: Choices in a Changing Society

This exciting new text presents personal health in the context of a changing social and cultural environment. Going beyond behavior change and individual responsibility, it offers a broadened view of health that includes the impact of family, community, and society. It's a new way of looking at health: Personal health is not only the choices we make.

"Choice" is another key theme in Your Health Today. Emphasizing the importance of making informed health choices, this text demonstrates how these choices affect an individual’s health--for today and for a lifetime.

Michael L. Teague received his doctorate in exercise science, health, and recreation from the University of Northern Colorado. He has been a professor in sport, health, and leisure at the University of Iowa since 1975, and teaches courses in health, contemporary nutrition, and nutrition performance for the health sciences program. He has also developed and taught online courses on personal health nutrition and health promotion. Dr. Teague received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the University of Iowa in 1993-1994, and also holds a secondary appointment with the College of Public Health. He has authored several books about health promotion and aging as well as books about aging and leisure. Dr. Teague has served as a health observer for the U.S. State Department in East Timor, an advisory committee member for Healthy People 2000, a taskforce member for Women’s Health in Iowa, and a health promotion grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, and the Canadian Diabetes Association. He was the director of a 26-part video series titled Healthy Living: Road to Wellness, used in distance learning and campus health courses across the United States. This series received 22 national and international video awards. In addition, Dr. Teague was the co-producer for The Victories of Dan Gable, which aired on HBO Signature in 1999. In his leisure time, Mike enjoys golf, racquetball, basketball, wallyball, and running.

Sara L. C. Mackenzie, M.D., M.P.H., completed medical school at the University of California-Davis, and residency in family medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. She obtained a master's degree in public health from the University of Washington. Dr. Mackenzie provides care for students at the University of Washington; she is also an active member of the University of Washington Health and Wellness Committee - a campus-wide group dedicated to assessing and improving the health of U.W. students. She has taught students — in large and small groups — about health, wellness, and illness; developed health curricula; and organized conferences to enhance communication between youth and health practitioners. In addition to her medical practice, Dr. Mackenzie serves as a clinical instructor within the University of Washington School of Public Health, responsible for teaching a personal health class, an upper level undergraduate public health class, and she is the West Coast medical consultant for Job Corps, a vocational training program for youth that incorporates basic health care, wellness and employability. Her husband, Paul, and two daughters, Lila and Sydda, fill her life with laughter and balance. Sara enjoys running, horseback riding and gardening with her family.

David M. Rosenthal received his Ph.D. in counselor education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. For 23 years, he was a faculty member at the University of Iowa, teaching in the Colleges of Medicine, Public Health, and Education. Dr. Rosenthal was named Teacher of the Year by residents in the Department of Family Medicine and was given the College of Medicine Service Award. He was also the Director of Counseling and Health Promotion Services at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Later he became the Director of La Bodega de La Familia in New York City. Dr. Rosenthal has also written a number of professional articles and books. With Dr. Michael Teague and David Gould, he produced a series of award-winning videos focusing on health. He also produced and co-directed, with Steven Henke, two award-winning video documentaries about Native Americans in South Dakota. Dr. Rosenthal has been a licensed marriage and family therapist and served as president of the Iowa Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. He has given more than 100 presentations in the United States and has conducted workshops in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Russia, and Greece. Dr. Rosenthal was also Executive Director of the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center in Manhattan and an adjunct faculty member in the College of Education at Brooklyn College. He is currently a faculty member at Columbia University where he works with Family Medicine Residents and graduate students at the Mailman School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of two non-profit organizations: Heritage Health and Housing and the Burmese Refugee Project. David and his wife, Jane, enjoy living in New York City and spending time with their children, Daniel (and wife, Courtney) and Rebecca (and husband, Chris) and their five grandchildren Isaac, Darby and Emily, Cyrus and Max.