Essay on Maintaining a Healthy Body
“MAINTAINING A HEALTHY BODY”
A healthy body goes hand in hand with a person’s healthy lifestyle whose characteristics include someone who does not smoke, has a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 25, eats 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day and has daily exercise (9). The World Health Organisation (WHO) classify values outside of the normal parameters as being underweight if the value is below 18.5 while values exceeding 25 are considered to be overweight (14). To put this into context, it is reported by the Northern Ireland (NI) Executive that 450 deaths in NI were caused by obesity in 2010 while Trevedi (2006) estimates that 75% of worldwide deaths from non-contagious diseases will be related to an unhealthy diet by 2020 (8,13).
Primarily this essay will evaluate how diet and exercise maintain a healthy body but will also acknowledge the factors that exert pressure on the parameters of this phenomenon that society is obsessed with.
A balanced diet is defined as having all seven nutrients present in the correct proportions. We gain most of our energy from carbohydrates but fat and protein also contribute to the release of energy. The recommended daily calorie consumption for men is 2500 while a woman’s is 2000. Metabolic rate influences the health of a body. Metabolism is the rate at which the cells in our body utilise the energy we consume in our food to sustain the chemical reactions necessary for our survival. The energy required should equal the energy used, otherwise excess energy will be stored as body fat. Macronutrients are essential in large amounts compared to vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) which are required in much smaller amounts. It is the imbalance of these nutrients that cause malnutritional disorders such as starvation or obesity.
The media have over-sensitized the importance of cholesterol in the diet as having negative consequences. Cholesterol is ingested as animal fat rich in saturated fatty acids, however, our
A healthy body goes hand in hand with a person’s healthy lifestyle whose characteristics include someone who does not smoke, has a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 25, eats 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day and has daily exercise (9). The World Health Organisation (WHO) classify values outside of the normal parameters as being underweight if the value is below 18.5 while values exceeding 25 are considered to be overweight (14). To put this into context, it is reported by the Northern Ireland (NI) Executive that 450 deaths in NI were caused by obesity in 2010 while Trevedi (2006) estimates that 75% of worldwide deaths from non-contagious diseases will be related to an unhealthy diet by 2020 (8,13).
Primarily this essay will evaluate how diet and exercise maintain a healthy body but will also acknowledge the factors that exert pressure on the parameters of this phenomenon that society is obsessed with.
A balanced diet is defined as having all seven nutrients present in the correct proportions. We gain most of our energy from carbohydrates but fat and protein also contribute to the release of energy. The recommended daily calorie consumption for men is 2500 while a woman’s is 2000. Metabolic rate influences the health of a body. Metabolism is the rate at which the cells in our body utilise the energy we consume in our food to sustain the chemical reactions necessary for our survival. The energy required should equal the energy used, otherwise excess energy will be stored as body fat. Macronutrients are essential in large amounts compared to vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) which are required in much smaller amounts. It is the imbalance of these nutrients that cause malnutritional disorders such as starvation or obesity.
The media have over-sensitized the importance of cholesterol in the diet as having negative consequences. Cholesterol is ingested as animal fat rich in saturated fatty acids, however, our
References: 1. Bhattacharya, S. (2003) Journal of the American Medical Association Vol 290 p502 ‘Ape diet lowers bad cholesterol levels’. 2. Cannon, G. (2008) Dieting Makes You Fat. London: Virgin Books. 3. Corder, R. (2007) The Wine Diet: a complete nutrition and lifestyle plan. London: Sphere. 4. Devlin, K 5. Fitzgerald, N. (2010) Biological Sciences Review Vol. 22 Issue 3. ‘The Statin Story’. 6. Indge, B. Rowland, M. & Baker, M. (2008) A New Introduction to Biology. London: Hodder Murray. 7. Leary, C. (2011) The Biologist Vol. 58 Issue 2. ‘Should obese women be denied access to fertility treatment on the NHS?’. 10. Schaschke, C. (2008) Biological Sciences Review Vol. 20 Issue 3. ‘The alphabet soup of vitamins. 11. Schaschke, C. (2009) Biological Sciences Review Vol. 21 Issue 4. ‘Vitamin supplements: too much of a good thing?’. 12. Toole, G 13. Trevedi, B. (2006) New Scientist Issue 2570 ‘The good, the fad and the unhealthy’. 14. World Health Organisation, ‘BMI classification’ http://apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html Accessed 24/09/2011