The Healthy Lifestyle Way

In the Encyclopedia of Public Health, Lifestyle is defined as: ‘A pattern of individual practices and personal behavioral choices that are related to elevated or reduced health risk’. Lalonde defined lifestyle as:The aggregation of decisions by individuals which affect their health, and over which they more or less have control.  Personal decisions and habits that are bad, from a health point of view, create self-imposed risks. When those risks result in illness or death, the victim’s lifestyle can be said to have contributed to, or caused, his own illness or death.”

 The concept of lifestyle is based on the idea that people generally exhibit a recognisable pattern of behaviour in their everyday lives. (E.g. regular routines of work, leisure, and social life). The term “healthy lifestyle” assumes that people’s daily pattern of activities can be judged as healthy or unhealthy. A healthy lifestyle is generally characterised as a balanced life in which one makes wise choices. However, the array of choices is influenced by many factors. Lifestyle is a product of some combination of choice, chance, and resources.

The issue of healthy lifestyles is an important one. A healthy lifestyle is a valuable resource for reducing the incidence and impact of health problems, for coping with life stressors, and for improving quality of life. However, convincing people that health is a good investment, and getting them to follow a healthy lifestyle is a complex process.

Many health problems can be prevented or at least their occurrence postponed by having a healthy lifestyle. Many health issues are addressed with exercise, nutrition, stress management and other healthy lifestyle practices. Many of the behaviours that contribute to health conditions, whether good health or ill health, are clearly related to people’s lifestyle choices.

Within the UK there is an obesity epidemic which can be attributed to an increased consumption of foods high in sugars and saturated fats in conjunction with a reduction in physical activity.  Poor diet and a lack of exercise can exacerbate specific health conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and cancers through their direct impact on weight and obesity.

Obesity continues to be on the increase across the whole spectrum of age groups in the population from cradle to grave.  The consequences of this are alarming escalations in many preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.  In England alone, nearly a quarter of men and women are now obese. The trends for children give even more cause for concern, with 18 per cent of 2 to 15 year olds currently obese and a further 14 per cent overweight.  The Foresight report on obesity indicates that nearly 60 per cent of the UK population could be obese by 2050. 

We will through all our writings put forward  the importance of the achievement and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle through the adoption of increased physical activity, healthy eating and stress management. Our work is based on the evidence that obesity is not just an appearance problem; it is a condition that can lead to serious disease. Obesity is associated with five of the ten leading causes of death and disability in — heart disease, some forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and hypertension (high blood pressure). Consequently we promote increased physical activity and improvements in dietary intake that prevent weight gain or produce weight loss and weight maintenance. We are committed to disseminating these messages to men, women, and children of all ages.Through The Healthy lifestyle Way Blog we will deliver information to help individuals attain one of the greatest gifts of all – that of good health together with other personal gains such as improved self-esteem and self-motivation. We will empower people to take charge of their health, promoting the physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being; enhancing the quality of life of people by giving them access to healthy lifestyle solutions.Better lifestyle habits will reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and more! You will feel better, have more energy and reduce your risk of other illnesses. Living healthy also elevates your mood, helping you to feel happy and have more self confidence, which results in a better quality of life.  Take an active approach to living healthy and improve you health. A healthy lifestyle is a resource for quality of life and coping. Health is an investment whose benefits grow over time. A healthy lifestyle becomes a long term investment.

Our goal for this blog is to make it an online resource providing you guidance, information, motivation, and support on your lifelong journey to physical and mental wellness.