Living a Healthy Lifestyle: Meaning, Benefits, and Practices

This article explores the meaning of living a healthy lifestyle, including the benefits and practices involved. It discusses the role of physical activity, the constituents of healthy eating, stress management, disease prevention, and the importance of balance and moderation. The information is relevant for students and anyone interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

What does living a
healthy lifestyle mean?
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Role of Physical Activity............................................................................................................3
Constituents of Healthy-Eating...................................................................................................4
How to manage stress.................................................................................................................4
Avoidance of bad behaviours and addiction...............................................................................5
Awareness of Disease Prevention...............................................................................................5
Balance and Moderation of Healthy Living................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
Healthy living is considered to be one of the most important things if a person wants to
remain fit and healthy. Being healthy can include many things like eating healthy food, doing
physical activities, stress management and so on (Cena and et. al., 2019). Exercise is one of the
key contributors to an active and healthy lifestyle. A person who wants to stay healthy, should be
aware about how can disease be prevented. Living a healthy lifestyle can help in preventing
long-term illness as well as chronic diseases that can have an adverse impact on the overall
health of the person. The report explains the meaning of having a healthy lifestyle for students
and the role of physical activity. It also explains how can a person manage stress and what are
the constituents of healthy-eating.
MAIN BODY
A healthy lifestyle can help a person in preventing chronic diseases and lead a happy life.
Healthy living means that physical as well as mental health of a person are in balance with each
other. It is important to take care of one's own health if they want to lead a healthy life. There are
many constituents of leading a healthy lifestyle that contribute to the overall self esteem and
confidence of the person. There are certain principles of healthy lifestyle that students should
follow like not skipping breakfast, limit the consumption of processed foods, drinking water,
eating more of green vegetables and so on (11 Principles of Healthy Living for All, 2020).
Students usually skip their breakfast, which is not considered to be a good sign. This is because it
can lead to a decline in blood sugar and moodiness. Also, vegetable intake should be increased
so that the student get different nutrients that they offer. The different constituents of living a
healthy lifestyle are explained below-
Role of Physical Activity
Doing regular physical activity can not only improve the overall muscle strength of an
individual but also boosts their overall endurance. It delivers oxygen as well as required tissues
to the tissues. This leads to the cardiovascular system function efficiently due to which the
person can perform daily activities with more energy. Not only this, physical activity also helps
in controlling weight because it leads to burning excess calories. The more intense physical
activity is, more calories are burnt. It also combats with different diseases and health conditions.
As a result, health problems like increased cholesterol, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety,
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arthritis etc. People who are involved in regular physical activity have improved mood and
stimulates various chemicals in the brain that can leave a person to be happy and relaxed. There
is an increase in overall levels of energy and a healthier state of mind. A person who exercises
regularly has a better sleeping pattern than those who don't exercise regularly. Students should
aim for practising physical activity for least 30 minutes in a day. This can help them in focussing
on their academics effectively.
Constituents of Healthy-Eating
Healthy-eating focuses on regular and balance intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains,
nuts etc. Intake of good nutrition is considered to be an important part of living a healthy life and
at the same time, maintain a healthy weight (Geller, Lippke and Nigg, 2017). For students, it is
even more important to practice healthy eating because it can enable them to learn more
effectively. There are seven constituents that are considered to be important for healthy-eating.
These include proteins, carbohydrates, water, vitamins, fat, fibre and minerals. Healthy-eating
for students includes consuming a variety of vegetables and fruits, grains etc. A diet that is well
balanced, can help in controlling weight and promotes growth and development. Proteins are
needed by the body for repairing cells and for overall growth and development (5 must-have
components for a well-balanced diet, 2020). Carbohydrates on the other hand, are considered to
be an important source of energy. So, it is very important for the students to choose wisely from
the carbohydrates they consume. Fat is another important constituent of healthy-eating that
contributes to nearly 15% of the day to day calorie needs of an individual.
How to manage stress
Stress has become one of the most common prevailing conditions among people these
days and it is extremely important to adopt measures to manage the same (Goodyear, Kerner and
Quennerstedt, 2019). Having a positive attitude is a must for preventing stress and leading it to
have a negative impact on the overall lifestyle of the person. In order to manage stress
effectively, a person should learn and practise various relaxation techniques, exercise regularly
and eat diets that are well-balanced. It is also important to get enough sleep so that the body gets
time to recover itself from any stressful event that the person might have gone through. If the
person feels that things are not going too well for them, they should consider taking a break. This
will enable them to take some time off and participate in things they like doing. While on a
break, the person can practice their hobbies or even talk about their problems if they feel like
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doing so. Spending time with family and friends can also help in managing stress and improving
overall well being.
Avoidance of bad behaviours and addiction
When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, it is very important to avoid any kind of bad
behaviours or addiction that a person might be practising. When a person is vulnerable, they are
likely to develop unhealthy habits in order to cope with the situations that they are going
through. Bad behaviours and addiction generally indicates a lack of control on one's own
behaviour (Heggie, 2018). Therefore, in order to avoid such behaviours, one should check in
with themselves and undertake an honest self-assessment. If the person is in a situation wherein
they are not able to quit the bad habit or addiction, they should ask for help. Studies have shown
that another person can help the person who is suffering from a bad habit in quitting the same.
Meditation is said to be one of the best ways to avoid bad behaviours and addiction. It helps in
leading a healthy life without any complications.
Awareness of Disease Prevention
Disease prevention can be defined as the process through which people who are
vulnerable to falling ill, are treated in order to prevent the disease. The treatment of the disease
usually starts before the occurrence of symptoms of the disease, or shortly after they occur. It is
important for the people to be aware of this process so that the signs and symptoms of the disease
can be detected early. If this happens, appropriate actions can be taken in order to prevent the
disease from occurring. People who want to live a healthy life, should be aware of how to
prevent a disease from occurring (Morton, Lee and Martin, 2017). This way, they can detect the
signs of a particular illness early and adopt appropriate measures for the same. Lack of
awareness of disease prevention can lead to adverse health conditions and also, affect the overall
quality of life at the same time. Therefore, one should participate in awareness campaigns as well
as build strong networks so as to improve overall awareness about disease prevention. Important
measures can include washing hand with soap frequently, covering nose and mouth while
sneezing etc.
Balance and Moderation of Healthy Living
Living a balanced life can significantly contribute to healthy living and thus, it is
important to balance out things in life. There are many measures that a person can adopt for a
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balance and moderation of healthy living. This can include assessing one's current life situation
and prepare a schedule to lead a balanced life. On the other hand, moderation is also one of the
key factors to lead a balanced life. This is because it is concerned with eating healthy foods,
exercising regularly eating some processed food, but in moderation etc. Moderation can include
avoiding excessive consumption and it helps with maintaining a healthy weight, controlling
calorie intake and other health complications like diabetes and high blood sugar (Willett and
Skerrett, 2017). So, it can be said that eating in moderation can really be helpful. Keeping other
things aside, it is equally important to take some time out for self, if a person wants to lead a
balanced life. This can include indulging in hobbies or practising some yoga or meditation.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that living a healthy lifestyle is an important
thing that people should practice. It is a combination of different things like exercising regularly,
maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the overall risk of suffering from a chronic disease and
promoting overall health. Healthy-eating is a practice that every person should include in their
lifestyle. Healthy-eating comprises of a balanced intake of different constituents like proteins,
carbohydrates, fat, minerals, vitamins and water. Also, a person should be aware of disease
prevention and take various measures to reduce the risk of occurrence of a disease. This can
allow them to lead a safe and healthy life and also manage stress effectively.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Cena, H. and et. al., 2019. Definition and diagnostic criteria for orthorexia nervosa: a narrative
review of the literature. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and
Obesity. 24(2). pp.209-246.
Corr, C. A., Corr, D. M. and Doka, K. J., 2018. Death & dying, life & living. Cengage learning.
Geller, K., Lippke, S. and Nigg, C. R., 2017. Future directions of multiple behavior change
research. Journal of behavioral medicine. 40(1). pp.194-202.
Goodyear, V. A., Kerner, C. and Quennerstedt, M., 2019. Young people’s uses of wearable
healthy lifestyle technologies; surveillance, self-surveillance and resistance. Sport,
education and society. 24(3). pp.212-225.
Heggie, V., 2018. A history of British sports medicine. Manchester University Press.
Lv, J. and et. al., 2017. Adherence to healthy lifestyle and cardiovascular diseases in the Chinese
population. Journal of the American college of cardiology. 69(9). pp.1116-1125.
Morton, K. R., Lee, J. W. and Martin, L. R., 2017. Pathways from religion to health: Mediation
by psychosocial and lifestyle mechanisms. Psychology of religion and spirituality. 9(1).
p.106.
Willett, W. and Skerrett, P. J., 2017. Eat, drink, and be healthy: the Harvard Medical School
guide to healthy eating. Simon and Schuster.
Online
11 Principles of Healthy Living for All. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://foodandnutrition.org/blogs/stone-soup/11-principles-healthy-living/>.
5 must-have components for a well-balanced diet. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.netmeds.com/health-library/post/5-must-have-components-for-a-
well-balanced-diet>.
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