Physical fitness is to the human body what fine-tuning is to an engine. Exercise enables us to perform up to our potential. Sports and physical activity have been a constant in my life and although I am not currently playing organized sports, I still enjoy staying active. Whenever possible, I run, play golf, lift weights, practice Yoga and ride bike. The importance of both regular physical activity and eating a healthy diet is second nature. My parents are very active and enjoy eating a healthy well-balanced meal. They have taught me well! Before arriving in Italy, I was uncertain if the Italians exercised daily. Do they run? Are there health clubs? Yoga studios? Would I be able to continue my workouts? In addition, I was curious …show more content…
My friends participate in a wide variety of physical activities such as: running, biking, yoga, kick boxing, lifting weights, swimming, cross country skiing in the winter or water skiing in the summer. Whether influenced by celebrities, social media, or their upbringing, working out is a typical daily routine for students at the University of Minnesota. When I first arrived in Italy, one of my first observations was the lack of health clubs and even more noticeable, the lack of people running or biking on the streets. My initial thoughts again, were due to their highly loaded carbohydrate meals, Italians would be required to exercise frequently in order to be thin and healthy. However, I was wrong. After speaking with a Florence local, Jennifer, she defined what physical activity means to Italians. She said, “Most Italians move more, “getting around”, in their daily routine unlike many Americans, so they may not tend to think of this as a physical activity more than just part of their daily routine.” Florence is a small city and typically people do not have cars and rely on walking to and from destinations. So, although Italians do not take time to work out like my Americans peers, they still get their exercise daily by walking to and from work, to and from the store, to and from their friends’ …show more content…
Even in the States, the concept of a healthy diet varies from region to region and from generation to generation. For example, some believe being vegan is the healthiest, whereas others think vegetarian is the healthiest. After reading “Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication,” I realized I stereotyped the Italian culture thinking they only eat carbohydrates (Bennet, M.J.). This assumption was made based on my dining experience in the U.S., because the menu in “Italian” restaurant in the U.S consists of predominately pasta and pizza. Here in Italy, I originally failed to look past the stereotypes and assumed their menus would be the same. Jennifer informed me that a typical diet in Italy is comprised of a three meals: 1. A light breakfast, pastry and espresso. 2. A modest lunch, which usually includes a plate of pasta, a salad, or simple meat dish followed by fruit at the end. 3. Dinner is usually their biggest meal of the day, and often includes pasta, meats, vegetables, and always a fruit at the end. However, if pasta is eaten at lunch, they will not eat it at dinner and vice versa. Their diets, for the most part, are well-balanced and nutrient
Forty-eight percent of individuals who cooked dinner six to seven times a week consumed 2,164 calories, 81 grams of fat and 119 grams of sugar daily. They were also able to conclude that those who consumed home-cooked meals depend less on frozen foods and are less likely to choose fast foods. However, as explained in, “Tasting food, tasting freedom: excursions into eating, culture, and the past” Sidney Mintz explains in chapter eight that the majority of Americans often choose to eat out at fast food joints because of the convenience of these meals. Mintz states that these meals are usually diets, “high in animal protein, salts, fats, and processed sugars, low in fresh fruits and vegetables, drinking more soda than tap water.” This is where cultural, and social aspects create conflict when attempting to switch to this healthier lifestyle (although it is feasible). Depending on an individual’s schedule, it will either be an easier switch to make home-cooked meals, or just another difficult task to accomplish throughout the
Routine physical activity may be difficult for those with low income to achieve. Firstly, people who have low income generally must work longer and laborious hours than people in the high and middle income rankings in order to have enough money to get by. Low-class Americans simply do not have the time or energy to exercise their bodies. Also, an individual’s economic status can be the cause for several obstacles of achieving physical fitness. For instance, the lack of transportation to and from the gym could be a major problem, as well as being able to pay gym membership fees or gym equipment. It is further explained, “A lack of good transportation choices is the most important single issue that limits routine activities such as walking, biking, and transit use by low income people.” (Squibb 2) Poor economy is only one of the ways low-income individuals are limited to physical fitness.
In America alone, only about 51% of Americans exercise 3 or more times a week, and 18% exercise only 1 to 2 times a week (Shy). 30% of American sadly doesn’t do any type of extracurricular activity or exercise at all (Blackburn). For the people who don’t exercise, try to because you can really only benefit from it. The one’s that already do know the health benefits for exercising. Aside from just exercising, one activity or activities you could do is weight lifting/strength training. Most people don’t think about this but strength training is actually a big key for exercise.
my personal stance 1 my personal stance 4 My Personal Stance Jason S. Eadens Benedictine University My Personal Stance I guess one of the hardest things to write, is a reflection on yourself. In the class, Human Dignity/ Common Good I have had the chance to reflect on myself, and see the room where improvement needs to be made.
Exercise can benefit an individual in many ways. Through research I have found several articles which have been written throughout the years that address these benefits. Some of these benefits are to prevent diseases, to improve stamina, to strengthen and tone, to enhance flexibility, to control weight, and to improve quality of life. All of these benefits will be address throughout this paper. However, even though exercise does benefits an individual, it does also depends on their circumstances. For example, exercise can be done to help with a pregnancy and after a pregnancy, to control diabetes, and to help the brain function for achievement in school.
As the saying goes “health is wealth”, a good health is as primary a need in human life as food, clothing, and shelter. Exercise plays a key role in achieving a good health. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, exercise can be defined as the “physical activity that is done in order to become stronger and healthier”. Scott Roeben, a humorist and creator of the award-winning humor Web site, Dribbleglass.com.Scott, in his article “The Case Against Exercise” states that the claim that exercise is a good and positive thing is a ludicrous claim and is the most destructive rumor among the rumors spread upon the humankind. He believes that exercise causes human suffering rather than promoting better health and a longer life and that the hazards
According to the Merriam Webster, exercise is defined as “physical activity that is done in order to become stronger and healthier”. Exercise is essential in achieving optimal health, as it pushes us out of our comfort zone and away from disease and death. It helps us to find a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being as well as a balance between them all.
Japan is presented to the public, specially the American public, as a nation that benefits greatly from all the right dietary habits. In Japan over 95% of the population eats at least three meals a day, in which they consider dinner to be the most important. The Japanese population has dinner at home with their families and loved ones, regardless over 60% of them eat home-replacement mea...
Shape your body by cutting fat and sculpting muscle. Enhance your performance by increasing strength and cardiovascular endurance. The physical training process has been deconstructed, examined, and reconstructed. Needless complexity has been simplified or removed. The resulting system is balanced, thorough, and efficient. Whether you are a complete novice, skilled intermediate, or seasoned expert: Consider this system to be an issued challenge. Take on this challenge. Use the programs. See the results. Feel the results. Achieve your ultimate potential.
Sedentary lifestyles have greatly contributed to obesity, and to the diseases affecting to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. It has been shown that physical inactivity reduces our strength, results in low energy levels, and causes obesity. It is therefore very essential to ensure we that lead a physically active life. Exercising regularly is the key to a healthy life. However, this is hampered by factors like lack of motivation, time and money.
There exists various lifestyles and behaviours, ranging from amount of nutrition intake, mental well-being, to the amount of physical activity engaged individually. Weighing the abundance of factors, this essay primarily aims to focus on the aspect of physical activity in relevance to how it possibly affects one's lifestyle. By cross-referencing to other lifestyles and behaviours, this essay will also demonstrate the importance of physical activity in possibly alleviating the issues raised pertaining to other lifestyles as well. Throughout this essay, there will be frequent references to the socio-ecological framework in examining the aforementioned factors.
Living a long and healthy life requires more than just good luck. People all over the world go to the gyms and like to exercise for different reasons. Some think that maintaining their fitness will just aim at their physical image, but being physically active will help control their overall health by improving the body's function and preventing sickness. Being physically active is the key to being physically and mentally fit, and helps people become a more balanced, physically fit person. They will not only stay healthier, but will be happier, live longer, and also sleep better. This will help boost a person's mental outlook, and also increase their self esteem. Physical fitness is one of the most important steps to a healthy body.
The best known result of lack of physical activity and exercise is overweight and obesity. According to James McKinney, studies have discovered that having an active life and exercising at least 150 minutes per week, alternatively, 15 minutes a day, not only can help avoid obesity, but also improve health reducing the chances of developing a chronic disease (McKinney. 132,133). He also states that, “High levels of physical activity and cardio respiratory fitness are associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality”. Furthermore, “more physical activity can reduce the development of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke and cancer.” (McKinney,134). In addition, having an active life can reduce the chances of getting cancer by 45% (McKinney,134), and also, reduces the symptoms of depression by 30%
The benefit of physical fitness is to prevent obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle thru training and focusing on the body’s compositions. Physical fitness is the measure of the body’s ability to go full capacity. If one doesn’t exercise ones body doesn’t work at its full potential all the time. Exercise can lower the risk of having major problems with ones body and relieve stress.
Exercise and eating healthy are two of the most important things you need to do to take care of your body properly. Both exercise, and eating healthy, have many advantages and benefits. They help with multiple things needed throughout your life. These things include growing physically, mentally, and if you are religious, spiritually as well. All of this adds up to your body functioning in the highest and best way possible.