Healthy Living

Healthy living involves engaging in those activities that promote a long and healthy life free from disease. People who deprive themselves of healthy living are characterized by various factors which are often initiated by excess weight and obesity. Some of the diseases are heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Engaging in a healthy lifestyle through physical exercises and a healthy diet promotes healthy weight while eliminating a variety of chronic diseases.

Weight management has become an important aspect of healthy living. This mostly involves managing the intake and usage of calories in the body. Ultimately, it has been noted that over eighty percent of all individuals who have chronic diseases such as those named above are also obese. This implies that weigh plays an important role in disease development. For such diseases to be managed, therefore, proper measures must be taken to control weight as well. According to National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (2014), reaching and retaining a healthy weight is very important for the prevention and control of health conditions. The risk of developing such diseases is highly increased by inability to maintain a healthy weight. The primary method that can be used for controlling weight is adopting a healthy lifestyle.

One primary move in adopting a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle is engaging in physical exercises. According to National Health Service, UK (2014), every individual is expected to engage in a minimum of 30 minutes of intensive continuous physical activity per day for at least five days per week. The one way to tell that an activity qualifies for measure is that it should be fast enough to break a sweat and raise the heartbeat. The National Health Service, UK (2014) sufficient exercises lower the risk of major illnesses like cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart disease by over fifty percent and lowers the risk of an early death by over thirty percent.

A healthy diet is also inseparable from healthy living. A healthy diet comprises healthy foods and a controlled amount of calories. According to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (2014), unhealthy eating habits have contributed to the epidemic of obesity in the US. A little over one third of all US adults have the condition of obesity, while about 17 percent of US children are obese. The number of percentage of obese children in the US has been rising steadily in the US. Unhealthy eating also contributes to certain diseases without the aid of obesity. It contributes to diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and certain varieties of cancer. It is important that healthy eating habits are taught and encouraged at a younger age. According to Go et al. (2013), the habits taught to children eventfully cement themselves by the time they are adults. It is important that a healthy eating plan is adopted to avoid risky diseases and even death.

In conclusion, while exercising and healthy eating are not the only healthy habits, they are arguably the most important. They both help in weight management and reduce the risk of developing certain chronic illnesses. It is advised that one engages in at least 150 minutes of physical exercise each week. It is also important that individuals eat healthy meals and control the amount of calories they take each day. The concept is to ensure that physical activity is balanced with the level of calorie intake.

References

Go, A. S., Mozaffarian, D., Roger, V. L., Benjamin, E. J., Berry, J. D., Borden, W. B., … & Turner, M. B. (2013). on behalf of the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2013 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 127(1), e1-e240.

National Health Service, UK,. (2014). Benefits of exercise – Live Well – NHS Choices. Retrieved 4 November 2014, from http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/whybeactive.aspx

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,. (2014). Maintain a Healthy Weight. Retrieved 4 November 2014, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/index.htm