Fitness & body Essay Example for Free

Fitness body Essay Concept in the olden days about being fit was just looking healthy. Today we know that there is a lot more required to be healthy. Just because a person looks healthy does not mean that his arteries are not clogged up with cholesterol. In the dictionary fitness is described as being in a good state of health due to exercise and proper nutritional habits (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000). Thus to be physically fit an individual needs regular exercise and a balanced nutritional diet. Just falling into the required body mass index does not certify an individual as fit. Current Fitness and Nutritional Habits My body mass index falls in the normal range but I do not feel as healthy as I should at my age. Breakfast consists of cereal with milk or sometimes fried egg with brown bread. Occasionally I have heavy foods such as French toast or sweet tea with fried paratha. Lunch has white meat and is usually a heavy meal of the day. The meat is cooked with oily gravy and is usually consumed with rice. Dinner also consists of similar type of food items. Vegetable are only consumed about two to three times a week. I consume a soft drink almost every day. Sometimes consume around three soft drinks in one day. Have about four glasses of water each day. Do not follow any regular exercise plan. Since I live on the first floor climbing about thirty stairs is a normal routine. Spend a lot of time in front of the television or computer so a sedentary type of lifestyle. Try to walk around the house as often as possible but walking in the university is exhausting enough. Have to sit in the car for about an hour to go back and fourth from the university. Health problems related to obesity: An obese person has the risk of developing many problems and diseases. There can be heart diseases such as atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, congestive heart disease, angina, sudden cardiac death and stroke. Cancers of the endometrial, colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney and post-menopausal breast cancer are also more likely to occur. Fatty liver disease, chronic venous insufficiency, gall bladder disease, breathing problems, deep vein thrombosis and arthritis are also shown to occur more commonly in obese individuals (Collins, 2000-2007). Fitness Habits There are many changes I can make to my daily routine to improve my health. Some of these changes are: regular exercise, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and playing badminton at least once a week. Regular exercise has many benefits. It increases the efficiency of the heart and increases the cardio-respiratory system’s ability to carry oxygen to the body. It helps regulate the cholesterol in the blood thus leading to lower cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure and decreased risk of coronary artery blockage. During exercise endorphins are released. These are normal body hormones that decrease depression, lower pain and elevate the mood. It helps prevent injuries and lower back pain. Exercise is also associates with a decreased risk of developing cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis. Due to these numerous benefits if I do about one hour of fast passed walking each day it will do wonders for improving my health. Regular exercise also ensures that a person sleeps more regularly and is more alert and active. Climbing stairs is a great exercise for the leg muscles. It helps increase the heart rate thus providing a work out. Stamina is also increased. Since we have to get from one point to another it is better to pick a route that will help burn more calories. This is why the escalators and elevators should be avoided since they deprive our body of much needed calisthenics. Badminton or any other sport for that matter is a great exercise. It is a good way to work out without losing interest in the exercise. Sports not only help increase team spirit and people interaction but they are also a great way to pass time and get healthier simultaneously. A sport such as badminton involves running around. This is a great exercise and helps build better muscle tone and interaction. When something such as exercise becomes a source of enjoyment it can be done for longer periods of time without feeling the strain. Exercise helps decrease weight since it burns calories very quickly. Thus playing a sport, climbing stairs or doing regular exercises everyday will help improve my general health since I will lose weight, sleep better and become more alert. Nutritional Habits Three nutritional habits I can acquire to improve my health are: eating more vegetables, cutting down on soft drinks and eating fewer processed food. Vegetables are something that our elders have been raving about for years. We have to acknowledge that there is some wisdom to their praising the greens. One of the main benefits that vegetables provide is fiber. Fiber is very important to maintain a healthy and toned digestive system. It is the indigestible content of the vegetables that helps prevent constipation. The calorie content of vegetables is also very low. This is why a greater quantity can be eaten without the risk of exceeding the daily required calorie content. Soluble fiber also makes you feel more full so the urge to eat can be resisted (Fisher, 2009). Vegetables will keep my weight in check since I can eat more and stay full for longer without consuming too many calories. Soft drinks are one of the leading causes of obesity today. It is a known fact that they contain huge amounts of refined sugar. This can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and premature aging. It also contains caffeine which is addictive and causes side effects such as jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer. Aspartame is a chemical used as a substitute of sugar in diet soda. It causes over 92 different health side effects including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. (Oleda and Company, 1996-2010). There may also be bone and teeth defects since soft drinks decreases the body calcium content. Cutting down on soft drinks will automatically help me reduce weight sinec it is such a fattening product. It will help improve my bones and teeth and my over all general health. Most of us usually prefer munching on junk food. Sometimes we become so addicted that we include junk food into our regular diet. Processed foods such as junk foods contain a lot of trans fats. This is a very harmful kind of fat and is not easily metabolized by the body. Avoiding junk food will help reduce weight since I will not be gaining too many calories from a very less quantity of food. General health will also improve since weight and digestive system will become healthy. Nutrition and exercise are the things that define us. As the saying goes: ‘you are what you eat’ we should be very cautious of the quality of nutrition we are providing our body. A balanced diet is essential to make our body keep working at it’s vital capasity. Over the decades exercise has proved to carry many benefits such as mood elevation and decreasing the possibility of many dieseases. If these two things are balanced we can truly become fit. This improvement will do wonders for our quality of life since everyone is well aware that a good life depends on quality and not quantity. References Collins, A. (2000-2007). Health Risks of Obesity. Retrieved july 10, 2010, from anne collins: http://www. annecollins. com/obesity/risks-of-obesity. htm Fisher, F. (2009, april 27). Benefits of eating vegetables cooked or raw. Retrieved july 10, 2010, from articles base: http://www. articlesbase. com/low-calorie-articles/benefits-of-eating-vegetables-cooked-or-raw-887732. html Houghton Mifflin Company. (2000). fitness . Retrieved july 10, 2010, from th efree dictionary by farlex: http://www. thefreedictionary. com/fitness Oleda and Company. (1996-2010). Dangers of Soda Pop (Carbonated Soft Drinks). Retrieved july 10, 2010, from oleda: http://www. oleda. com/oleda_tips/tips. asp? dept=48