Prompt: Good habits improve our physical, emotional, and/or financial health. Select one of your good habits and write an essay persuading readers to make that habit a part of their lives.
One look around a playground and you can easily spot more overweight children than there are healthy children. The problem of obesity isn’t confines to elementary school age children either; it is a widespread problem in middle and high school environments as well. It’s disgusting and discouraging to see the young people of America fall prey to the unrelenting jaws of fast food and junk food. Yet, there is a simple solution to this problem and it begins with accepting and applying good eating habits to your life. By eating more fruits and vegetables and cutting out excess junk food, youth and adults alike can lead healthy lives and prevent the onset of obesity.
At the beginning of the year 2006, I made a resolution to cut out soda and all soft drinks from my diet for at least one year. Needless to say, I kept this resolution and it has become a lifestyle change for me because I was delighted with the benefits I reaped. Admittedly, I did lose weight but I also had more energy and my skin almost glowed due to my replacement drink of choice, water. Soda has been proven to be one of the strongest culprits in excessive weight gain and the reason for this is because it is readily available everywhere. It’s cheaper to buy than a bottle of water and it is even in conveniently located vending machines. However, its high sugar content contributes to the stored sugar we have in our bodies and that converts to undesirable fat. Thus, the more soda we drink, the more sugar and calories our bodies store, the fatter we become. By eliminating, or simply reducing, the amount of soda we drink every day, we can begin to make changes that will improve our health and shed unnecessary and unhealthy pounds.
The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans states that a healthy diet emphasizes an abundance of colorful fruits and vegetables. The reason for this is fruits and vegetables are high in all the necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies need on a daily basis to function correctly. Perhaps you may say that multivitamins are an alternative to eating healthy food; however, multivitamins are important to supply the nutrients you don’t get from your daily diet but they must not substitute natural produce. From my own experience, when I consume fruits and vegetables more so than processed foods, I lose the urge to over eat or binge on other unhealthy food that may make cause my weight to skyrocket. Junk food such as chips and ice cream, for example, have little to no nutritional value when compared to, say, an apple or broccoli. Therefore, the junk food we consume can be classified as “empty calories” that simply only supply calories and sugar instead of much need nutrients that fruits and vegetables give us.
You might ask yourself, why should I make a habit of eating healthier and foregoing the way I have learned to eat over the years? The most obvious and crucial answer is that when you don’t lead a healthy lifestyle, you are more prone to harmful diseases and health defects. Obesity can occur when you decide to negate to choose healthy food choices and regular exercise. This can lead to diseases such as heart disease, high cholesterol, or diabetes. “If you are obese, you are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, and sleep apnea, among other conditions” (WebMd). If you lose weight, your risk of these diseases is lowered. Leading a sedentary lifestyle full of unhealthy food choices can increase your risk of obesity and consequently your risk of other diseases that can ultimately lead to death.
Junk foods are inevitable factors in our lives because their processed and easy availability fit out hectic lifestyle. However, if we continuously consume these foods, we will gain weight and are at risk for being overweight and eventually, obese. By adopting my idea of a good habit of choosing healthy food choices such as fruits, vegetables, and water, we can all lower our risk of this unfortunate disease and help prevent the coming of other diseases as well. It can be as simple as adding an apple to your lunch or drinking a bottle of water instead of soda at dinner. If we all make these small and simple lifestyle changes, we have the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives.
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