Healthful Eating

Healthful Eating

Maintaining a healthy diet is important, but it can be a difficult task to uphold. According to the American Obesity Association (2005) approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese. By maintaining a healthy diet people can fight obesity, and other health risks.

People find that eating healthy is difficult to do because it does take time for it to become a habit. Also the foods that a person shouldn’t be eating are generally the foods that taste good. One way for a person to maintain a healthful diet is to find healthier alternatives for the less nutritional valued foods the person enjoys, or eat the less nutritional valued foods in moderation. Finding simple quick healthy recipes is also a good way to maintain a healthy diet.

Grabbing food at a fast food restaurant is easier and less time-consuming for people with busy schedules. Not only is the food at the fast food chains fast it is also tasty. Since the food served at the fast food chains are high in fat and cholesterol, a person can easily gain weight. When I was working late hours, and didn’t have time to go home for lunch or have time to make dinner at home, I would grab some food from any fast food restaurant that was conveniently close by my work or my way home. Not too long after I kept this routine going I gained weight, and didn’t feel as energetic as before. A better option would have been to make a healthy lunch at home and bring it to work, or prepare a healthy dinner earlier that day so the meal is ready to eat when I arrive at home.

Another aspect to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is exercise. The American Heart Association (2009) noted that “all healthy adults ages 18-65 should be getting at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity five days of the week.” Moderate intensity activities should increase heart rate and breathing rate, but a person should still be able to hold a conversation while...