Ways to Staying Healthy in College

It seems now a days that when it comes to staying healthy all focus is on the rising obesity rate in children. But are children the only ones having to deal with staying healthy? I think not. Everyone struggles with having to stay healthy especially freshman in college who are dealing with many new changes and stresses in life. However there isn't a lot of information out there for us on how to help keep us healthy in our first stressful year of college. As a fellow freshman who is trying to stay healthy I found the following tips for staying healthy from Fox Business in the article Tips for Staying Healthy in College by Emily Driscoll. Hope this helps!

The first tip is for avoiding the awful freshman 15. Eating healthy can be hard especially when we have so many options to choose from. A good way to eat better is by adding fruits and vegetables to your diet and to eat smaller portions more frequently which allows you to get less hungry. Second thing you can do to stay healthy is by exercising. Not all of us are gym crazy but don't worry there are simpler ways of exercising. Walking to classes is an everyday exercise that everyone gets. It's simple and easy. A fun way to exercise is by joining an intramural team of a sport that you enjoy. You can even play with your friends. The third step is by getting enough sleep which is one of the hardest things to do will all the work and studying students do. Not getting enough sleep makes you less successful then if you were to study less. It prevents you from concentration and can lead to physical problems. The last thing you can do to stay health is limit the amount of alcohol you consume. Alcohol has a large amount of calories and therefore is a fast way to gain weight if you drink every weekend. Alcohol also affects the way you sleep and keeps you from getting the deep sleep that allows you to focus and be energetic. Staying healthy may seem hard with all the work we have but in actuality it can be simply and easy.

Who is to be Blamed for Obesity in America?

As humans, when something goes wrong we naturally have the urge to place the blame on someone or something other then ourselves. Since obesity is an issue on the rise we are looking for something that can be blamed for this problem that so many people are faced with. So who really is to be blamed for obesity in America? Nutrition plays a big and important role in a healthy lifestyle and weight control. Should the processed food industry be blamed or not blamed for the obesity in this country? According to Lorraine Heller author of the article The Obesity Blame Game, the food industry is not to blame. The food industry has started to make changes in the products that are being produced as this quote from her article shows, "General Mills reformulated its cereals to be made with whole grains; PepsiCo reformulated its snacks without trans fats; Kellogg slashed sugar from its products; Kraft introduced the concept of 100-calorie packs." However there are those who don't recognize this an important change and tend to blame the food industry for obesity. As the author of Is the Food Industry to Blame for Our Rising Obesity Problem? sees it, "the allegedly more-healthy-for-you products may still contain lots of sugar, high fructose corn syrup or other unhealthy processed components."What do you think? Do you agree that the food industry is making changes toward a healthier American or do you think that they could be making a better effort?

Brain Abnormalities in Obese Kids With Diabetes

In the article Brain Abnormalities in Obese Kids With Diabetes, by Denise Mann, the effects of obesity in kids on their brains is discussed. According to an online study by Diabetologia adolescents who are obese and have type 2 diabetes, are having changes in their brains that is affecting how well they perform in school. Eighteen obese children who have type 2 diabetes and eighteen obese children who don't have diabetes were tested on memory, spelling, and intelligence. Those children with diabetes performed worse on these tests then those who didn't have diabetes. The reason for this is not fully know but according to  Antonio Convit, MD, professor of psychiatry and medicine at the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, "we know the brain uses sugar as source of metabolism , and insulin resistance interferes with the body's ability to get more juice or sugar into the brain". Now researchers are trying to figure out a way to reverse the insulin resistance. The best way to do this is exercise. Lots and lots of exercise is the key to shedding the weight and restoring insulin to your body.

Issues With Health in Schools

The topic of health has been a growing issue amongst schools in this country. Physical education and lunch nutrition is where the issues begin. In schools during PE classes, physical fitness tests are preformed to measure multiple things such as strength, endurance, and flexibility. However, in the past few years more and more children are failing these tests. According to Rob Stein's article Millions of Adults, Teens Fail Fitness Test, 33.6% of adolescence are in the low-fitness category. Why are so many children failing these test? The answer is the elimination of mandatory PE classes in many schools which discourages children from exercising and getting in shape. The lack of these classes is not the only issue discouraging young children from staying healthy. School lunches play a large role as well. Schools don't take into account the amount of calories they are serving someone or the type of the food they are handing out. A simply way for schools to help children with healthy eating is to start serving fruits and vegetables, using wheat bread instead of white, and serving food that isn't so high in calories. Schools help in shaping the lives of children but it should be in a positive way. Changing they way they feed children and how they educated them on healthy living and exercise is an easy way for schools to create healthier children all around our country.

What "They" Are Saying About Obesity

Obesity in America is a issue that has recently inclined over the years. The reasons to why this has happened vary and everyone has a different view, so what is being said? A big reason for child obesity according to Alabama Cooperative Extension Nutritionist Dr. Robert Keith was the invention of electronic media. Before this addition of media to the American childhood, children would play active games outdoors and get exercise in a fun way. Now they spend most of there time on the computer or watching large amounts of TV. As Dr. Keith puts it, "Parents are feeling reassured that their kids are safe at home, but these activities or having consequences." Another big involvement in the increase of obesity that is a big topic among many is the food being served at fast food restaurants. What about fast food restaurants though add to America's obesity? Author of The Super-sizing of America: Are Fast Food Chains to Blame for the Nation's Obesity?, Jenny Murphy, believes its the increase of proportions and the low cost price of the meal which makes costumers feel like they are "getting a bang for the buck" as Jenny puts it. The Surgeon General believes that an issue with low health literacy is also a cause for this increase. Many people do not know what is often being said on the nutrition of foods or how to translate them. An example of this is not knowing how many calories a day should be consumed which leads to the nutrition label being meaningless if you don't know how much food your body should consume. 

"Why the Increase in Obesity in America Over the Years?"

Over the past four years the percentage of obese adults has gone up from 13.4% to 35.1%. But why? An answer to this was discussed in the article, Why the Increase in Obesity in America Over the Years?, found on the LiveStrong website. According to the article the reason for this increase can be found in environmental factors that are controllable; this includes an increase in calories, less physical activity, and social factors. However many Americans aren't doing anything to control these factors because they are comfortable with the way their lifestyle is. People are so use to their "relaxed" living of life that they aren't taking the time to notice this issue and do something to change it. America's increase in portion size at restaurants, lack of sidewalks in community, vending machines, expensive gym memberships, and even mechanical can openers are encouraging this "relaxed" lifestyle that we all want to live. We all need to take a step back and reevaluate our lifestyle and make simples changes in order to bring down this increase in obesity that our country is now facing.

My Interest of Health in America

I have chosen this topic because health in America is a current issue that has not been resolved yet and is involved in everyday life. I have always had an interest in the topic of health because my mom was into it. She taught me from a young how to live my life in a healthy way via eating, exercising, or even in the products I use throughout my daily routines. My interests has recently increased significantly due to my recent change of majors into Exercise Science, in which health plays a crucial role. Throughout high school my health classes were always interesting to me and was something I enjoyed. Recently I think that Americans are being less informed about health issues and are not doing much to change the ways Americans are viewed in the area of health.