How to get fit and healthy

Obesity is recognized as a disease since 1997 by WHO. The increasing number of obese people around the world obliged WHO to take measures against this new burden.

In 2005, the estimated number of obese persons was about 400 million adults and 20 million children. It touches developed countries in particular but is on an increase in the developing nations too. This disease can have a lot of other health effects as well.

How is that explained? We can find food 24/7 and unless checked, it leads to snacking of particularly sweet and fatty foods. A lot of people criticize the role of television in the growth of obesity, as it provokes inactivity and calls to consume more. Contemporary societies are sources of stress and food unbalances to add to it all.

Obesity can lead to different diseases like high cholesterol levels, hypertension, or rheumatic fever. Death occurs often before time. The discrimination is a real problem too because obese people can’t continue to work, and start to find themselves useless.

Governments try to check this phenomenon and launch some programs in school and television advertisements.

Solutions however, lie in habits: you have to eat balance meals with vegetables and fruits, and avoid sweets. Practicing some kind of sport is essential to stay fit and preserve a good health. Snacking is prohibited if you are obese. Healthy eating has to be a part of education for your children.

Show them you can be an example by walking to school, taking the stairs and indulging in sports. You can do a jog every day, even if it’s short, it’s always efficient. Your heart will work better and your body will delete the too much sugar. Organize swimming outings with your friends; you will protect yours joints by using your muscles and losing weight! Go hiking; it could be a good mean to relax on a weekend and discover nature.

Your body will use some calories to adapt your internal temperature to your environment.

Cycling is a free, easy and eco friendly mean to fight obesity too. It will help you avoid cardiovascular problems. Dance with your partner, you will use all your muscles and release stress.

The food style that is adopted today is the main cause for belly fat. Almost 80 % of food contains fat, and the proportions of vitamins and proteins in the food are reduced. Work stress, family issues and health troubles are the other reasons. The belly fat may lead to diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular problems and numerous other health problems collectively known as metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Doctors suggest that through a balanced, healthy diet and regular exercise, one can lose belly fat and reduce excess body weight.

Jeffrey Woods, a professor at the University of Illinois (U-I) led the study on belly fat along with his colleagues. Mice were given high-fat diet to induce obesity. An Illinois release on the study says that after six weeks, mice were assigned to either a sedentary group, an exercise group, a low-fat diet group, or a group that combined a low-fat diet with exercise for six or twelve weeks so the scientists could compare the effects in both the short and long term.

‘The surprise was that the combination of diet and exercise didn’t yield dramatically different and better results than diet or exercise alone,’ said Vicki Vieira, study co-author.

Woods said that it is a promising finding. ‘The benefits of exercise were apparent even if the animals were still eating a high-fat diet. That tells me that exercise could decrease or prevent these life-threatening diseases by reducing inflammation even when obesity is still present.’

He exclaimed about the exercise carried out by mice - ‘The good news is that this was a very modest exercise programme. The mice ran on a treadmill only about one-fourth of a mile five days a week. For humans, that would probably translate into walking 30 to 45 minutes a day five days a week,’ he noted.

Here we have listed the correct walking postures suggested by specialized doctors.

1. Extend inner knee
2. Touch the ground with your heel first
3. Keep walking in a straight line

Do this simple exercise regularly, and get rid of that extra fat. Lead a healthy life!

Not too long ago, fat and chubby children are considered healthy. But this is not true in reality; obesity makes children inactive and can lead to diseases like arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. On seeing all these effects, people have involved themselves in researching and finding ways to treat and prevent obesity in children.

The research reveals that eating habits, lack of physical activities and heredity are the three main factors that lead to obesity in children.

Parents are the first-role models for children. They will have good eating habits only if their parents have good eating habits. Everything lies in the hands of parents. It’s upto them to provide their child with healthy, nutritious food and make sure their child has a balanced diet. Talk to children about the vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables, and their contribution to a healthy body; children tend to listen and follow, if they are spoken to seriously.

Nowadays children spend most of their time playing video games and watching television. Reduce the amount of time spent on the TV and computer, by encouraging outdoor play and regular exercise, organizing neighborhood games and taking family walks. Keep your child as active as possible; this is the key factor to keep your family healthy.

Child obesity may also be caused due to heredity, which unfortunately is non-curable. Children with overweight parents have larger risks of obesity. In such cases, both parents and children should seek the advice of doctors and follow strict diets to avoid greater health risks. They should take up weight reduction in earnest, if a healthy, happy life has to be achieved.

If your child feels embarrassed about his obese body, he will not make friends and tend to remain secluded. This will affect his mental and social health. Remember that an obese child is not a healthy child, so make sure that your child is free from obesity.

Quick review on to-be-followed rules to avoid obesity in your child:

* Plan an appropriate and nutritious diet
* Encourage kids to join gyms, play outdoors, and exercise at least 4 times a week
* Encourage physical activities
* Avoid junk food
* Take regular measure of their height and weight, to keep an eye on progress.

By Andrew Lacie

By staying fit and healthy as you progress through the aging process you will feel and be looking younger. Aging is a natural process we all have to face however it shouldn’t be something to be afraid of, if we take the right steps to maintain our fitness and health.

There are many things we can do to remain healthy and keep ourselves looking younger throughout the course of our life. The correct eating habits and regular exercise are essential elements of the anti-aging process.

If you are obese or overweight try committing to an exercise program. You will need discipline and a strong will to take this action, however, once you begin to see results your motivation will increase dramatically. After all, you need to think about the consequences if you do nothing. A minimum of thirty minutes per day is required to make a difference. Start walking each day and slowly build up to a little further distance when you feel comfortable but in saying that, you need to push yourself to get out of your comfort zone. Walking, combined with exercises you can do at home, will not only help you shed weight and tone your muscles, but will also do wonders by increasing your heart rate.

It is recommended that you exercise and walk in the morning or afternoon but not before going to bed as this tends to get you all pumped up, which means you won’t be able to relax and may therefore find it’s difficult to get a good night’s sleep.

Your new walking and exercise program will also be beneficial in lowering your cholesterol levels as you reduce your weight. It will also increase your blood circulation thus reducing the chances of heart disease. If you suffer from high blood pressure, look for foods that contain calcium, magnesium and potassium as they help to lower blood pressure.

As you grow older your body needs the proper food groups to live a healthy aging life. Providing it with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients helps to build a strong and healthy body. Taking care of your diet and taking vitamins reduces the risks of certain cancers such as colon, breast and ovarian cancer. Ask your doctor to recommend a diet and exercise regime that can help you stay healthy and fit as you age.

Take the time to investigate the myriad of information available on the internet and in hard cover book form so that you have a thorough understanding of all the essential elements required by your body to keep it in tip top shape. You only get one - Look after it with your life.

Andrew Lacie is a writer and researcher for the past five years on anti-aging processes To receive more valuable information and tips on anti-aging please visit theanti-agingprocess.com

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If you are planning to lose weight then what you need to do is ensure your activities allow you the time to lose weight over a long period of time. The concept of crash dieting is flawed because its effects cannot be sustained and it is potentially very dangerous for the body to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. The correct way to lose weight is to follow a sensible plan that will allow for gradual weight loss over a period of months. This article gives an insight into why diet and exercise are crucial in helping you to start losing weight, but do not expect results now. These tips will work but they take patience.

The first change to your life style that you should make is to begin a daily exercise routine. This does not mean that you should pressurize yourself into running 10 kilometers within a week. The important factor is to begin an exercise program that encourages you to burn the calories and to make this a regular occurrence. Random exercise will not help you to lose weight, instead you should decide to start walking for 30 minutes a day and then over a period of weeks gradually increase the distance and then perhaps start to jog for a similar time period.

If you struggle to motivate yourself to begin walking and jogging then regular swimming or playing sports can be just as rewarding.

Whilst you are improving your physical health, it is important also to focus on what you eat. Exercise is important when it comes to losing weight, but its effects are greatly diminished if you do not address your eating habits.

Just like exercise it is important to make dietary changes gradually otherwise you are likely to struggle to stay positive after a few weeks. So you can start by analyzing you’re eating patterns for a typical week and then look to reduce some of those foods with high calories with something that is still appetizing but has a lower calorie count. This works if done gradually. It is important that you do not associate a diet with punishment and if you suddenly decide to cut pizza and burgers from your diet altogether then it will not be long before you quit the diet.

If you can introduce water to your diet then you will give your weight loss plan a massive boost. Mineral water contains no calories and will help to keep the body hydrated for your exercise routine. If you are in the office during the day it is easy to go to the vending machine and get a soft drink or coffee. Instead you should try to drink more water to help your weight loss plan.

Likewise you need to slowly replace confectionery, crisps and other high calorie snacks with lots of fruit. Eating an apple or orange will provide a supply of energy and is full of nutrients that the body needs. They are also low in calories.

This is all it takes. If you have tried countless weight loss plans then this advice is for you. Losing weight can be achieved through discipline and patience. By deciding to gradually increase your exercise routine whilst simultaneous changing your diet to include lower calorie food over a period of months you are sure to see results.

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