Introduction
Obesity is currently becoming a global health problem, with more than 600 million people affected globally based on the reports by the World Health Organization. Obesity is associated with excessive fats in the body and the imbalance of the energy consumed. Like many other chronic conditions, obesity can be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As a result of failing to adhere to the recommended healthy lifestyle, obesity has increased amongst Americans. It is estimated that one in every three adults are obese while one in every six children also being obese. Obesity is usually related to serious health conditions such as stroke, diabetes, and heart diseases, which are currently some of the leading cause of death in America. Other than the health risks it has, obesity has also led to increased medical costs and has come as a huge burden to the US healthcare delivery system. However, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can have serious positive impacts on obesity reduction. Maintaining a healthy diet, doing physical exercise, avoiding stress, and having enough sleep are some of the healthy lifestyles that can help prevent obesity.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Adhering to the basic principles of healthy eating has been identified to play a key role in impacting the preventing of obesity. One of the major causes of obesity is unhealthy eating, and taking a lot of calories and fats. A healthy diet is one that entails eating vegetables and fruits per day. According to the reports by the World Health Organization, “fruits and vegetables contain less calorie and can help decrease the risks of obesity” (Raubenheimer et al., 2015). Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and other nutrients and are also associated with lower risks of insulin resistance and diabetes. Taking fruits and vegetables at least twice in a day can greatly reduce the calorie levels in the body and reduce excessive body fats.
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A healthy diet for a healthy lifestyle also entails reducing sugar consumption as well as processed and junk foods. Most highly processed foods such as white bread and many of the junk foods have been found to contain a high amount of empty calories, which can increase the level of body fats. A 2019 survey showed that taking too much processed and junk foods increase the risks of weight gain ( Hawkes et al., 2015 ). Healthy eating also requires one to take less added sugar. According to reports by the American Heart Association, the added sugar intake in women should not be more than six teaspoons while that of men should not be more than nine teaspoons. The major foods full of added sugar that one should reduce include sodas and energy drinks. Too much sugar in the body has been associated with increased body weight as well as diabetes. Other than taking too much of the processed foods and junks, healthy eating requires one to take more fruits and vegetables as this reduces the intake of calories.
A healthy diet for healthy eating also requires that one avoids foods saturated with fats and also to take enough water. According to the 2017 study that was published in Biomedica journal, taking foods that are rich in saturated fats can increase the risks of obesity (San-Cristobal et al., 2015). It is important to take instead of monounsaturated fats, which are considered healthy and less harmful to human health. Taking more of the plant-based diet than the animal-based diet have also been found to have a positive effect on body weight. This is because the plant-based foods contain fewer calories and are rich in fiber and proteins.
Exercise
One of the most important aspects of healthy living is undertaking physical exercise. The international guidelines require that an individual undertakes at least 150 minutes of either moderate to high-intensity physical exercise a week. Research has shown that individuals who engage in physical exercise are less likely to develop obesity. Exercise plays a key role in not only keeping one fit but also in burning any excess fats in the body, which are used as energy during the exercise (Ringseis et al., 2015). Exercises such as brisk walking are useful in helping burn the excess fats and maintain the right body weight. Exercise for a healthy lifestyle does not necessarily mean engaging in any thorough physical activity like going for the gym. It can involve moderate physical activities such as walking or cycling to work or keeping active throughout the day by taking a walk during breaks to relax the body. Exercise promotes natural weight loss and helps keep the body in the right weight for a healthy living. Taking morning or evening physical exercise such as running or going for a moderate gym exercise have been highly associated with positive body fitness and weight loss. For the people who are already obese, exercise can be the best natural way to lose weight compared to going for weight loss pills. For people with the right body weight, exercise combined with a healthy diet reduced stress, and enough sleep can help one maintain the right body weight.
Stress and Sleep
A healthy lifestyle is one that entails reduced levels of stress and having enough time to sleep and relax. Chronic stress has been found to increase the level of the stress hormone cortisol, which then facilitates weight gain (Roberto et al., 2015). While stress is a common aspect of human life, extreme levels of stress can be harmful and thus the need to identify the right coping strategies. Poor stress management, such as resorting to alcohol, can further enhance weight gain, especially for drinks that have added sugar. Instead, seeking a psychotherapist’s services and engaging in social activities can best work to regulate stress, reduce weight gain, and enhance healthy living.
A healthy lifestyle requires that one have enough uninterrupted sleep time. The experts recommend that an adult should sleep between 7-9 hours per night sleep. Going to bed late and waking up earlier, especially during the workweeks have been associated with increased BMI over time. Sleep is an important way of resting and remaining active and relax in the following day. However, less sleep can lead to fatigue and increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can then facilitate weight gain. Taking enough sleep, therefore, plays an important role in promoting the right body weight and maintaining a healthy living.
Conclusion
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is one of the best ways to prevent obesity. A healthy lifestyle entails key elements such as healthy diet, exercise, reduced stress, and enough sleep. With a diet full of fruits and vegetables and fewer calories, one can maintain a healthy body weight if combined with exercise and other elements of healthy living. However, across the gender and all age groups, Americans eating habits do not meet the recommended healthy diet as many people have resorted to taking a lot of junk foods as well as processed, ready-made foods which are rich in empty calories. This has led to a high rate of obesity, and when accompanied with obesity-related conditions such as heart attacks, have resulted in the loss of lives. Therefore, it is important to promote awareness and ensure all Americans eat a healthy diet, take part in regular exercise, and keep healthy body weight.
References
Hawkes, C., Smith, T. G., Jewell, J., Wardle, J., Hammond, R. A., Friel, S., ... & Kain, J. (2015). Smart food policies for obesity prevention. The Lancet , 385 (9985), 2410-2421.
Raubenheimer, D., Machovsky-Capuska, G. E., Gosby, A. K., & Simpson, S. (2015). Nutritional ecology of obesity: from humans to companion animals. British Journal of Nutrition , 113 (S1), S26-S39.
Ringseis, R., Eder, K., Mooren, F. C., & Krüger, K. (2015). Metabolic signals and innate immune activation in obesity and exercise. Exercise immunology review , 21 .
Roberto, C. A., Swinburn, B., Hawkes, C., Huang, T. T., Costa, S. A., Ashe, M., ... & Brownell, K. D. (2015). Patchy progress on obesity prevention: emerging examples, entrenched barriers, and new thinking. The Lancet , 385 (9985), 2400-2409.
San-Cristobal, R., Navas-Carretero, S., Celis-Morales, C., Brennan, L., Walsh, M., Lovegrove, J., ... & Gibney, E. (2015). Analysis of dietary pattern impact on weight status for personalized nutrition through on-line advice: the Food4Me Spanish cohort. Nutrients , 7 (11), 9523-9537.
