In the field of medicine it is far too common to treat an illness or problem as it arises, instead of helping people to prevent the problem in the first place. While it may not be possible to prevent everything, there is a lot that can be done now that will help us lead happier and healthier lives for years to come. One of the things that helps with that is fitness and more specifically using it as a holistic approach to improve our health.
Usually when you bring up the topic of fitness people think you’re going to be talking about the top fat burner of 2015, the best test booster on the market (you can find those things here if you’re interested), or maybe how to build muscle super quick in 3 months. While those things have their place, they aren’t what I’m really talking about. As a population if we were to begin living healthier lives by exercising more, eating better and just leading more active lifestyles, we could majorly put a dent in the amount of diseases and medical issues that we are on track to experience as a population.
While it’s never too late to take up fitness and lead a healthier lifestyle, it’s definitely one of those things that the earlier you do it, then the more you will reap the benefits of it. Now and much further down the road. But it’s not like there aren’t any benefits to exercise in the short term either, as you can of course be slimmer, build more muscle, and have more self esteem. Being in shape will help with all these things, which are all things that people would enjoy.
My effort in writing this is to implore you to begin exercising now, instead of waiting for a life altering medical diagnosis or until you have a medical scare that finally wakes you up. It’s estimated that obesity related medical expenses account for roughly $200 billion dollars a year, which is about 10% of all medical costs in the United States. That’s a lot of money for issues that are completely preventable by just being in better shape. That also doesn’t account for the future costs down the road which some estimates put at almost $500 billion dollars! This number relates to people that are obese today that are expected to have medical issues but haven’t had any medical issues yet.
As a holistic health advocate, I always like to look inward at things that can be done naturally without using drugs and/or other harsh methods to help people heal their bodies. There isn’t a greater medical issue that is so simple to fix than the medical epidemic of obesity that is staring us as a nation straight in the face.
I’ve worked with enough people who are obese and need to lose weight to realize that obesity and overeating is a physical problem that is really based on the mental side of things. In my experience many obese people eat for numerous reasons, the least of them being that they are simply hungry. I say all this to let you know I understand that this isn’t just a simple cut and dry issue but it’s an issue that is worth our time and effort to help people figure out now so that they can lead healthier lives now and later on in life.
