Did you know that the number of people who are obese in the United States has been steadily climbing since 1980? Along with those climbing numbers are the increasing number of people who suffer from diseases related to their obesity and lack of exercise, such as heart disease, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and hypertension. Many of these conditions are considered preventable when you provide your body with the correct nutrition and exercise it needs to fight disease.
What is Wellness?
According to the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois, wellness is a state of best possible well-being. It is a lifelong process that helps you to move toward your best potential and improves your physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual and environmental state of health. These six areas are the components of your wellness and help you to combat stress, improve your productivity and enjoy health and happiness.
What is a Healthy Diet?
A healthy diet can be illustrated in a variety of ways. However, the most common way is a food pyramid, according to the Mayo Clinic. There are food pyramids designed for many different ethnic backgrounds, such as Latin American diets, Asian diets or Mediterranean diets. They all emphasize the same basic healthy principles of eating more plant-based, whole foods that are not processed or changed from their natural state. A reduction in animal foods, limiting sweets, salts and alcohol, and controlling calories are included in all healthy diets.
How Much Exercise Do I Need?
Exercise is another factor that improves your health and wellness. Recommendations from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are that adults require two hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity every week or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging or running. You should also include muscle strengthening activities on two or more days a week, which in turn increases basal metabolic rate and also reduces your risk for osteoporosis.
Relationship Between Diet, Exercise and Wellness
The relationship between the foods you eat, the exercise you get and your overall wellness is tied closely together. According to Dr. Larry Luter, chief medical officer at Meritain Health, exercising is an active ingredient in maintaining your mental health. Exercise has been used to treat depression for several centuries. Physicians have found that individuals who are inactive have twice the amount of diagnosed depression as compared with those who exercise. Nutrition also plays an active role in your health and wellness. According to Harvard School of Public Health, aside from not smoking, what you eat and how much you exercise is in direct relationship to how healthy and well you are.
References
- McKinley Health Center: What is Wellness?
- MayoClinic: Food Pyramids: Explore These Healthy Diet Options
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: How Much Physical Activity Do Adults Need?
- Meritain Health: Exercise: An Active Ingredient in Mental Health
- Harvard School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source
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