 Health & Nutrition
Thoughts on
Aging
Use Thanksgiving Day as Family Medical History Day
(1 minutes: 52 seconds)
 WMA (audio
only)
Audio/Video Script:
Dr. LaVona Traywick
Assistant Professor - Gerontology
[Announcer] Welcome to Thoughts on Aging with Dr. LaVona Traywick,
Assistant Professor of Gerontology with the University of Arkansas Division of
Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.
[Dr. LaVona Traywick] Since 2004, the U.S. Surgeon General has designated Thanksgiving
as National Family History Day. The holidays are a time during
which families are often gathered. Some families may use this
time together to take a trip down memory lane reminiscing and
sharing family stories. This can also be a time, however, to
become better aware of your family health history so that during
your next doctor’s visit you can share and review this information
with your medical provider. This is important as many diseases
and medical conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and
cancer, are actually heredity. Keep in mind that some family
members may not want or be willing to share personal medical
information. In such instances, it is important to be
sensitive and to respect privacy.
The Surgeon General has created a computerized tool to help make
the process of creating a family health history fun and easy.
For more information and online tools to build your own family
health history, go to
www.surgeongeneral.gov and click on the "My Family Portrait: A
tool from the Surgeon General." (https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/fhh-web/home.action).
Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving, and don’t forget your new
topic of conversation for this year, family medical histories.
Thanks for listening to my thoughts on aging.
[Announcer] Thank you for listening to Thoughts on Aging with Dr. LaVona
Traywick. To learn more about this and other topics, contact your local county
Cooperative
Extension Service office.
References:
Andy Crocker, Gerontology Health Family Development and Resource
Management at Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Amy F. Hosier, PhD, Family Life Specialist, University of
Kentucky Extension Service
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/famhistory/famhx.htm
Office of the Surgeon General:
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov.
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