There are a
number of factors that contribute to this problem including:
eating habits, lack of exercise, family history, medical illness,
stress, depression, and low self-esteem. Of all the factors, only
family history and medical illness are things that cannot be
changed by the person who is suffering from obesity. Furthermore,
only one percent of obesity is caused by medical problems.
What this
means is that if you are that person and/or you do not want to
become that person, you have the ability to change and/or prevent
it.
The solution
According to
the Cleveland Clinic, the average youth in the U.S. spends
24 hours a week being physically inactive—mi gente that is
an entire day! Being physically inactive would include watching
T.V., playing video games, and using the computer.
With the
growing popularity of video games and the personal computer this
statistic is sure to increase unless the change is made by young
people. I know that video games can be fun. I too
enjoy a game of Madden, Call of Duty, or NBA Live,
but the reality is…too much of anything is a bad thing.
I remember
when I was growing up, that being in the house was a rare thing;
in fact, some of the only times I was in the house was when I was
in trouble and couldn’t go outside. Otherwise, my brother and I
were always out playing or riding our bikes.
So how can you
insure that you are healthy physically?
Two words…get active!
Being active
does not have to mean that you play sports for your school. Being
active simply means that you are dedicating at least 30 minutes a
day to doing something physical. You do not have to be a world
class athlete to be active. Some activities that you can do to
become active include walking, lifting weights, yoga, playing
sports, bike riding, and dancing.
Those are just
a few things that you can do. But it is important that whatever
you do, make sure that something is what you enjoy
doing. Motivation is a huge factor when it comes to making
sure that you stay active. If the activity is something that you
enjoy, then the chance that you will continue to do it greatly
increases.
It is
important that I emphasize that being physically active does not
guarantee that you will develop the body of a Greek god or
goddess. While it is ok to want to be ‘in good shape’, the more
important thing is that you feel good about yourself. Another key
element that should be understood about exercise is it is only one
part of being physically healthy.
Diet is
important too
Equally important is diet. For the record, diet does not
mean starving yourself—it simply means what you eat. You can be
very active and if you are eating the wrong things then all of
your efforts can be nullified. I know that it can be difficult to
eat right and I also know that as a young person you may not have
a great deal of control over what is in your home to eat. What
you should know is that many healthy foods are the same price or
cheaper than unhealthy ones.
One of the
worst things that many young people consume is soda or pop. It is
packed with sugars and calories and does nothing for you health
wise. I never drank a lot of soda but about three years ago I
stopped drinking it almost completely.
The greatest
solution is water. I know it’s not exciting and maybe doesn’t
taste as good as soda pop but it is great for you and more
importantly your body needs it. If that is not a good enough
reason for you to ease up on your soda consumption then consider
this, a recent Harvard study indicated that by drinking an average
of one soda a day can increase your risk of developing Type 2
Diabetes by 85 percent.
Diabetes is
another great health risk facing our community. Some 2.5 million
Latinos in the U.S. have diabetes. The scary thing about that
number is the fact that diabetes rates among Mexican Americans are
110 percent and among Puerto Ricans 120 percent higher than among
non-Latino whites.
More than 10%
of Mexican Americans 20 years or older have diabetes.
The
bottom line is aunque la comida es muy sabrosa la realidad es
que no es muy sana.
Just because
it tastes good does not mean it’s good for you.
There are
number of other health risks associated with diabetes including
heart disease, high blood pressure, blindness, and kidney
disease.
Hold up, I
almost forgot—you are young and those things only affect
viejitos y viejitas. Think again! More young people
are developing type 2 diabetes and the more you know about it the
better equipped you will be to prevent it. For more information
about what you and your familia can do to become educated
about the risks and how to prevent them you can call the
National Diabetes Education Program at
1-800-438-5383
or visit their website at
www.ndep.nih.gov.
Sleep too!
The
final component I want to discuss about being healthy is perhaps
the most simple—sleep.
I recently
polled some of my students (at Waite High School in East Toledo)
about how much they slept. The result was that only about 20
percent of them indicated that they slept at least 8 hours a
night. This is not good and I know it is generally reflective of
young people everywhere. You are in one of the most important
growth periods in your life right now…you need your sleep and
sleeping in class does not count.
Getting
adequate sleep has numerous benefits. Besides just feeling rested
and energized, it also helps keep your mind stay alert. In fact, a
recent study aired on 60 Minutes a few weeks back actually
linked adequate sleep with the ability to remember something
better the next day. In addition, lack of sleep may increase the
physical signs of aging as well as accelerate mental aging. Some
studies have even found that lack of sleep can increase the risk
of developing type 2 diabetes.
Well hopefully
this is some positive information that will aid you in achieving a
healthy lifestyle and reaping all of the benefits that come with
having one. Next column I will address nurturing your soul.
¡Hasta la
próxima vez!
I would love
to hear from you about my column; please send feedback or let me
know if there is something you would like me to write about. You
can e-mail me at
laprensa5@yahoo.com.
¡Gracias por tu apoyo! |
