Health and Fitness

As humans our bodies need constant nourishment. There is a fine line between eating too much and too little- this is one we must internally explore to meet the standards of a happy medium. Pavlov’s hierarchy of needs shows us that food, exercise and health are some of our core basic needs. In this essay I will discuss the positive and negative aspects of health and fitness, exercise, diet intake, mindset, endorphin releases, the effects of health and fitness on mental health, genetic obesity and disorders such as anorexia/bulimia.

‘Health is wealth’ is a phrase often heard upon embarking new diets or attempting changes in mindset. Our health consists of our mental, physical, emotional and social beings. We must remember that balance in life and in health/fitness is key to allow yourself the best opportunities in further life. Health is quite a subjective word; one person’s ‘healthy’ is another person’s poor health. The positives of health and fitness include being on top form, being able to access a plethora of activities and feeling more stable mentally and physically. The negatives of health and fitness include extremes (all things should be in moderation)- these extremes can go from one end of the scale (severely underweight) to the other (morbid obesity). Both of these cases have negative effects on users lives, as we will explore further.

Exercise is a great way to stay active, get your blood pumping and tone your figure, all whilst endorphins are released to allow feelings of happiness and satisfaction. Exercise looks different dependant on the individual. The beauty of exercise is the wide range of possibilities, ranging from daily walks to cardio to HITT workouts. Staying active is great for your mind, body and soul. When you are physically fit, you are able to think clearer and make more efficient decisions. Another perk of exercise is it holds transferrable skills such as discipline, motivation and often times an outlet for things going on at a deeper level. 

Diet intake accounts for a majority of health and fitness. Poor diet can often make you feel unwell and gives you an inability to function to the best of your ability. Eating too little starves your body of the nutrition it desperately needs to undergo daily tasks, especially when one is active and working on multiple demanding jobs. Eating too much almost has the same paradoxical effect. Eating too much will cause your sugar levels to spike and then crash so you never really have the correct balance of nutrition. This can cause poor body image also. 

Mindset is key in establishing where you lie on the running scale of health. The pursuit of health is one which, whilst many people are able to attain it, is a struggle for the majority of the population. Having a clear head and physically staying active, moving your body, expressing your mind, being still with your thoughts- are all aspects of the headspace of a person with motivation to do better and be better.

Mental health is a big contender when it comes to where you lie on that sliding scale. Mentally, we require our minds to be occupied and healthy. Not eating in the correct way for yourself individually, can cause low self-esteem. Often, it can go the other way and eating incorrectly is a symptom rather than a consequence of being mentally unwell or struggling with daily life. To get out of this slump we must push ourselves to be better and change our lives one step at a time. 

Genetic obesity, anorexia, bulimia etc are all physical manifestations of health issues related to food intake. As food is a primary need, we cannot function without it as humans. Health issues are something that can be avoided with the right education and persuasion for people who struggle with food. It’s also important that children from a young age are able to develop healthy eating habits as well as a stable self-image, this way turmoil related to health and fitness can be avoided.