Laloona Rehan
OBESITY is one of the biggest problems of today’s generation. There
are many factors that leads to obesity, including lifestyle, food choice, type of work, genetics or family history and many more. It is widely known that obesity is the gateway through which many lethal diseases enter the human body. According to World Health Organization (WHO), “Overweight or Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that present a risk to the health”. Obesity is known to increase blood pressure and is a leading cause of strokes. Excess weight can increase chances of other problems like high blood sugars, high cholesterol, heart diseases, problems of joints or arthritis etc. Although, obesity poses health problems that are very difficult to overcome, but obesity can be controlled by various easy ways which automatically control the health consequences caused by it.
It is very important to understand that diet plays an essential and crucial role in the health of an individual. Whatever we eat has a very long term implication on our overall health. Our young generation is used to eating readymade or instantly made food, junk food and food that have minimal nutritional and high caloric values. Such foods tend to be very tasty, but it does not provide the necessary nutrients. Eating simple food is nutritious as well as provides the body with essential nutrients. Food based on fruit and vegetable is the best one. Other food stuff including lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, etc should be consumed often. Use of cooking oil/ghee/banaspati should be omitted as they are extremely hazardous to health. Use of ginger, garlic, lemon, mint and coriander should be increased in daily meals. Raw salad with no artificial additives/sauces or flavors should be consumed with every meal. A simple combination of 1 tsp of ginger and garlic paste, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar, 1tsp of honey and one lemon mixed together in a bowl and consumed on empty stomach before breakfast every morning helps reduce belly fat, edema and keeps the body fresh and active throughout the day.
Another routine that every single individual should adopt in his life is regular physical exercise. One should make exercise a lifestyle and not do it as a hobby which comes and goes often. Along with controlling and overcoming obesity, exercise has many other numerous benefits in the long run. It prevents diseases and helps an individual stay active. It reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, improves sleep and help keep brain healthy apart from other incredible benefits. It should be taken in account that diet and exercise work side by side and goes a long way if regularly adopted.
Another simple way to maintain a healthy body weight that matches one’s BMI is drinking enough water. One should consume at least 8-11 glasses of water daily. Water keeps the body hydrated. Consuming two glasses of water before every meal helps you eat in lesser quantity, so that one can maintain a healthy body weight. Detox water is another exciting way of staying hydrated and adding up important minerals and vitamins in one’s diet. One very simple combination of detox water includes soaking one sliced cucumber, one sliced lemon, a few mint leaves in small pieces if ginger in water in a jug and leaving it for about 2-3 hours. After that, one can enjoy the natural refreshing flavored water. This water can be consumed for about 12 hours and water can be refilled as well. Another combination of detox water includes chia seeds, one sliced cucumber and one sliced lemon.
There are numerous combinations of detox water and all of them are very healthy. One can find detox water with different ingredients by looking it up on the Internet. Detox water helps to detoxify toxin material from blood and cleanses the body. It also helps lose weight and provides minerals and vitamins to the body. An active and healthy lifestyle depends on the little changes that one adopts in his/her daily routine. It includes diet, activities and exercise, avoiding high caloric foods, preferring fresh fruits and vegetables over unhealthy food stuff and consuming a large amount of water. It is in our hands to change our unhealthy habits, which might lead to dangerous diseases.
—The writer is freelance columnist, based in Peshawar.
