How to kick start your healthy lifestyle
Sunday, April 11, 2010
"Healthy diets and regular, adequate physical activity are major factors in the promotion and maintenance of good health thoughout the entire life course"
Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity contribute to the rise in overweight and obesity, which are a major health challenge. "The World Health Organization (Who) project that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more that 700 million will be obese"
According the Who, "the fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an engery imblance between calories consumed on one hand, and calories expended on the other hand. Global increase in overweight and obesity are attributable to a number of factors, including:
- A global shift in diet toward increase intake of engery-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients; and
- A trend toward decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.