Nutrition has played a significant role in human life, even before we were born, although we may not always have been aware of it. And it will continue to affect us in major ways, depending on the foods we select. Each day’s choices may benefit or harm humans’ health only a little, but when these choices are repeated over years and decades, the rewards or consequences become major. Fitness is as essential as food to us in order to stay healthy. As research shows that most of the consumers in US especially young adults do not know the importance of habits, fitness, and disorders it can trigger in humans if they do not eat right and exercise regularly.
Young generation and even older one seem not really to have any knowledge or sufficient amount of knowledge about food in order to stay healthy. The biggest problem right now is that a regular person in USA does not even know how many calories he / she needs and where they come from, what is cholesterol and how much is allowed, and what is effect of sodium on us if eaten in excess. The reason it all happens not only because we do not know what is the effect of those nutrients on us as humans but also because in today’s busy life people eat their meals out side of their homes. Meals that we eat today mostly come from the fast food restaurants and those restaurants are the one who sell the food, which contains a lot of fat, sodium, and cholesterol.
No more an average family cooks their food at home, which is freshly made from fresh vegetables and fresh products. Younger generation people the same as older generation do not seem to have enough time to eat fresh, well balanced meals, which are natural, and without high amount of fat, sodium, and cholesterol. While most people realize that their food habits affect their health, they often choose foods for other reasons. After all, food brings to the table a variety of pleasures and traditions.
The challenge, then, is to combine favorite foods and fun times with a nutritionally balanced diet. Healthy eating habit is not the only factor that helps us to stay healthy but a regular exercising plays as important role as healthy eating habits. Exercising effects our body, mind, and soul. It starts on the inside, people feel better; then the outside, people look better: and finally the mind, they are able to think better. Regular exercising can prevent us from many types of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and artery disease. For instance there was a research done by scientist, which states that if somebody has diabetes they say that exercising will greatly increase life spend of that person.
Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health asked over 5, 000 middle-aged women with type 2 diabetes to keep track of how much and what kinds of exercise-sports, brisk walking, biking, strenuous gardening or housework-they did over a 14-year period. They found that women who engaged in moderate to vigorous exercise at least 4 hours per week were almost 40% less likely to develop heart disease when compared with more sedentary women. High blood pressure cannot be cured, but it can be controlled. Medications can help manage the condition, but they ” re expensive and may have bothersome side effects. The findings of this study — that weight loss and regular physical activity can help lower blood pressure — should encourage people who struggle with hypertension to get into the exercise habit. By changing our life style to include fitness in the way we live our life, it will help us realize our full potential.
Life is precious and by becoming fit we can live healthier, happier, and longer life. As I stated above unhealthy food habit such as food that is high in fat, cholesterol, sodium, and calories and not exercising can led people to different types of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes, and stroke. As a matter a fact researches and statistics show that cancer is the first disease in US why people die and that number can be decrease by regular exercise and right food choice. Many researchers also say that some cardiovascular disease come from eating a food which high in fat and cholesterol. For instance, if someone has too much cholesterol in his food at some point in his / her life there will be too much cholesterol accumulated in the arteries, restricting blood flow and raising blood pressure.
The consequences are deadly; in fact, heart disease is nation’s number one killer of adults. The healthy eating habit and exercising are the two factors that are not present in today’s society. We can see that from statistic, which shows that 1/3 of population in US is obese. Clearly, optimal nutrition and exercising plays a key role in keeping people healthy and reducing the risk of chronic disease. So, we as a society have to become more educated about food and exercise in order to get a better future because there is nothing better than being healthy almost all life.