The Importance of Healthy Behaviors to a Healthy Lifestyle

Categories: Behavior Exercise Healthy Lifestyle

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Living a healthy life style has become increasingly more important to many, and the push for individuals to exercise, make healthy food choices, in the hopes to remain healthy and live longer have becoming a focus for many. The push must be working as the average lifespan has increased in the past years. Remaining healthy also ensures that one can be active in society and contribute in a positive way to society, and within their own family. For this reason, I have selected the topic of health behaviors as a topic for concern.

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Health behaviors is defined as the steps and practices that one takes to remain healthy and disease free. It is a process by which individuals maintain their health, or works towards regaining their health. Healthy behaviors do not focus only on exercise, but also need a focus on healthy eating habits. It is with the combination of the two that one can work on achieving a healthy lifestyle.

The routine of healthy behaviors should have a balance of exercise (walking, jogging, weights, sports, etc.) as well as healthy eating habits. Healthy eating habits provide the body with the essential nutrition that it needs to reach optimal performance. Healthy eating requires a balance of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, and proteins. Healthy behaviors also take learning to balance the two behaviors and ensure that meals and exercise coincide at the right time. Included also is ensuring that one is getting the proper rest as sleep is crucial to health and should be included in the process of instilling healthy behaviors in one's life.

These three factors; exercise, healthy eating, sleep lead to healthy behaviors and healthy bodies (Hanoch, Barnes, & Rice, 2017). People know what it takes to live a healthy life. Yet the issues that is found when the concept of healthy behaviors is discussed is the fact that these behaviors do not just happen, and the ability to change unhealthy behaviors to healthy ones can be difficult. Heathy eating, and exercise are a lifestyle change that must be developed. In a time when many feel they don't have the time to do so they fall back on unhealthy behaviors due to convenience instead of finding a way to fit the healthy behaviors into their schedule. In addition, due to the work lifestyle for many that does not involve physical movement for the day, the need for healthy eating habits is even more critical. The environments that have become the norm have led to an increase in heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Unfortunately, lifestyle factors have been recognized as a leading contributor to mortality.

Oftentimes, those that are suffering from there types of diseases are the same ones that are unable to afford the necessary medications, and often are those that feel they don't have the time or ability to make the lifestyle changes that can help without medications. There are numerous scientific models and theories that have been established to help to establish healthy behaviors in the population. According to a scientific study conducted in Australia concerning cholesterol rates in those individuals over the age of 25 are quite astonishing. In this study evidence shows that 1 out of 3 have been diagnosed with high cholesterol. This showed an increase over previous years showing that the issue is growing even though the awareness of healthy behaviors and the impact that exercise and healthy eating can have to help to correct high cholesterol. Respectively as well the high cholesterol levels were greater in women than in men, predominantly contributed to the fact that women are home caring for children and not as focused on healthy behaviors. While high cholesterol was present across the board in those above age 25, the highest levels were in those between the ages of 55-64 (Martínez-Gómez, Guallar-Castillón, León-Muñoz, López García, & Rodríguez-Artalejo, 2013).

Research has proven the hypothesis that higher rates of cholesterol are present because they do not participate in healthy behaviors of exercise, or physical activity. It is apparent that individuals have not been able to adjust their lifestyle towards healthy behaviors so that they can in turn focus on improving their health. These changes in lifestyle can be obtained by participating in several types of programs. Examples are informational and educational programs, behavioral and social interventions, and environmental policies which have been established (Thayer & Dinger, 2016). In each community there are programs which have been adapted to the population in terms of dominant languages, and activities in which the audience can identify easily. When programs are identifiable by the audience it has been successful in influencing behaviors. Through the application of these programs there can be a push for one to alter their lifestyle behaviors and reduce risks associated with health concerns. Developing a healthy lifestyle is about more than just focusing on habits that address a specific health problem. By devoting your time to healthy behaviors every day, you can ensure that your whole body stays as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Developing healthier lifestyle habits can initiate permanent change in your life. Depending on your current wellness level, certain behaviors can reverse the onset of disease, increase your energy levels and improve your mood. Have a look at your current habits, and consider ways that you can make changes in your life in respect to the areas outlined above. It only takes three weeks to create a healthy habit. By focusing on small behavior changes you can make substantial change in your life and work towards developing a healthier lifestyle.