Staying healthy is a priority for everyone. This is where a person has overall well-being in all states ranging from physical, mental to the emotional state. To achieve a longer and healthier life, people should have to consider their lifestyle, most importantly, their diet and physical exercises (Kennedy, 2006). The healthy habits that every individual develops should promote their well-being to a larger extent. The person should be free from diseases, physically fit, and have peace of mind. This essay will explain what eating healthy is, what it entails and, why is it important to the well-being of a person. The various challenges to achieving healthy eating habits will also be addressed as well as factors affecting the healthy living. The importance of exercise to the health of an individual, what it incorporates, and factors that limit its effectiveness is discussed.
The famous quotation on healthy habits is that the first wealth of any person is health. When a person has good health, they will be able to work and acquire financial gains. With these financial gains, one will be able to lead a comfortable life. They will be in a position to purchase cars, mansions, lands, among other luxury items with money at their disposal. It is, therefore, right to comment that people with good health can achieve anything they desire in this world. Good health is the source of everything beautiful that all people wish to pose. People with poor health will spend a big percentage of their income on improving their health rather than acquiring wealth.
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Eating Healthy
The foods that we consume and the drinks to take should promote the maintenance of our health. There are foods and drinks that are accepted and recognized. These foods and drinks are what people are recommended to consume in order to have good health. Humans are advised to eat foods that are natural and unprocessed which are genetically adaptive to eating. A person should form a healthy eating habit that conforms with required the recommendations. The basic foods recommended are; meat, fish, eggs, fresh vegetables, fruits, nut and seeds, potatoes, fats and oils, and high fat-dairy. These foods are proven to contain a high nutritional value for the consumers as they meet all the requirements for perfect health. People are advised about taking drinks that do not contain calories. The drinks include coffee, tea, water, and sugar-free carbonated soda. People are advised to be moderate in consuming alcohol and other drinks that contain sugar. Whatever the case, should always have a balanced diet that incorporates all the nutritional elements.
Factors and Challenges Affecting Healthy Eating
There are a few factors that are considered to form a healthy eating habit and affect the choices of what type of foods to eat and drinks to take. These are referred to as the major determinants of food selection. They include economic, biological, physical, social, and psychological determinants. The economic determinant is concerned with the actual cost of buying food. An individual will always have the foods that they can easily afford without straining. People with higher income will a balanced diet compared to people with low income. Physical determinant deals with ease of accessibility of the foods. People will consume foods that they are able to access quickly. Good transportation network and suitable geographical location enhance the accessibility of food by people. Biological determinants include appetite, hunger, and tastes. People need the energy to survive, and they will respond to appetite and hunger by eating the necessary food. There is the pleasure that one gets by having certain foods and results in a positive taste of having the food whenever the urge for it arises. Sick people will have their food suggested by doctors to ensure they recover from illness.
Social determinants suggest that the choice of food is influenced by peers, family as well as culture. People will associate themselves with certain foods as a result of influence from other people or cultural beliefs. For instance, people who belong to a certain social class will only consume food that conforms with class. Other cultures have restricted their members to eat particular foods, and it is a taboo to eat whatever that is not allowed by the community. Psychological determinants focus on the moods and stress that makes a person prefer specific foods due to induced behavior that affects health. Under such circumstances, other people will prefer eating a lot of food while others will reduce the number of meals they take. Stressed people will indulge in unhealthy eating habits such as smoking and excessive drinking of alcohol that adversely affect their health. It is valid, therefore, that the eating habits of people are affected by a number of factors. Children, youth, women, men, and the aged people all have unique and special foods that they require at the given stages of their lives. The nature of work for different people also account for the difference in healthy eating.
When these factors are critically analyzed, then challenges to healthy eating are evident. There is an inadequate financial capability that limits the quality and the quantity of food that one can acquire. Inability to successfully handle emotions that make people engage in unhealthy eating, such as drug and substance abuse that adversely affect their health. The emergence of social classes that widens the gap between the rich and the poor resulting in discrimination. Cultural restrictions that limit the people on the types of they eat. These people may suffer from different diseases such as kwashiorkor and marasmus due to lack of some nutrients, and imbalance diet.
Benefits of Healthy Eating To People
Proper eating is important to people as it contributes to the formation of good health habits. Eating healthy reduces the chances of acquiring diseases such as anemia and marasmus that are associated with a poor diet. Proper eating reduces the mortality rate of the people since it helps the body to develop a strong immune system that will combat the invading pathogens. There will be increased life expectancy for all people regardless of sex, age, or gender. Eating healthy is mainly concerned with safeguarding and improving the lives of all people. People with chronic illness such as cancer are also taken care of. They are given a special diet that prevents and reduces the severity of the disease on the person.
Physical Exercises
Eating healthy alone is not enough for developing a healthy habit. There is where physical exercises set in to make sure that a healthy habit is fully developed. Physical exercises allow an individual to meet the demands of daily living and provides an opportunity for sports performance. Health-related physical exercises include the various elements of physical fitness that are directly involved in developing a perfectly healthy habit (Warburton, Nicol & Bredin, 2006). The activities should be aimed at improving muscle fitness, better the metabolism rate and body composition of an individual. The effectiveness of physical exercise can be measured can be realized through the selected procedure. There is the use of standards for the measurement of energy used by observing how an individual respond to physical exercises under some circumstances. The impact of the physical exercise on the individual is obtained by observing heart rate monitors and motion sensors. They are several physical know exercises that benefit people. These exercises are generally referred to as aerobic.
Moderate- intensity aerobic exercises cause a small increase in the heartbeat and the breathing rate of an individual. These activities include dancing, leisure swimming, brisk walking, as well as leisure cycling. These activities require minimal energy and are most preferred for the aged and pregnant women. Vigorous-intensity aerobic activities include running, continuous swimming, playing football in addition to rope skipping. Such vigorous activities require a lot of energy; therefore, it is appropriate for youth and men. Every individual is supposed to be involved in certain physical exercises in order to develop better healthy habits. They may go to the gym or just a walk to the workplace in the morning will serve as a physical exercise.
However, engaging in physical exercises has become a problem for the majority of people. The availability of affordable means of transport to people makes people to board them to workplaces at their convenience. Negative perception by people on physical exercises as they view it as being too tiresome and demanding at the same time. They are unwilling to take time from their busy work schedule and take part in physical fitness. Unless recommended by health specialists, such people will never value the health importance of physical exercises. It is evident that people who do regular physical workouts are healthier than those who do not participate in them. People nowadays prefer using machines in every aspect of their life, and this has reduced their capabilities. For instance, people who used to agriculture manually have to employ machines that handle all farming activities.
Impact of Physical Exercise on Healthy Habits
Physical exercises have played a vital role in ensuring that people develop healthy habits (Semeco, 2017). Physical exercises have helped people to gain weight loss. Increased obesity and much weight are attributed to one’s inability to carry out exercises. Physical exercises increase the metabolic rate that burns the excess calories bringing about weight loss. It also assists in maximizing fats loss and muscle maintenance. Exercises are good for muscle and bone development. Exercises help hormones to promote the ability to absorb amino acids that improves the strength of bones even at old age. Physical exercises increase the energy levels of people. It has been proved that regular exercises reduce fatigue and boosts energy production, especially in people suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS.
Physical exercises are known to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Regular exercises improve insulin sensitivity and body composition as well as decreasing blood pressure and level of fats in the blood. The exercises also help develop brain health and memory. Physical activities increase the heart rate that promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain. It stimulates the production of hormones that improve the growth of brain cells. Lastly, exercises bring about relaxation and quality of sleep for people. There is the depletion of energy during physical exercises, and this energy drops during the night, thus one relaxes and enjoys the sleep.
In conclusion, a proper healthy habit is a priority for everyone. This is achieved by developing a proper eating habit as well as engaging in physical exercises. Healthy eating habits entail taking foods and drinks that are recommended for improving the well-being of people. They are various factors that determine the type of food that people should consume. Eating healthy alone is not enough and, therefore, should be followed by physical exercises. When both are considered carefully, they will result in better health habits. Better healthy habits are characterized by increased life expectancy, weight loss, reduced mortality rate besides reduced risks of chronic illness to people.
References
Kennedy, T. E. (2006 February 1). Evidence for nutritional benefits in prolonging wellness. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , 83 (2), 410–414, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/83.2.410S .
Semeco, A. (2017 February 10). The top 10 benefits of regular exercises. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise .
Warburton, E., R., D., Nicol, W., C., & Bredin, S.D.S. (2006 March 14). Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. Medical Knowledge that Matters, 174 (6): 801–809.
doi: 10.1503/cmaj.051351 .
