Often times we associate losing weight with being healthy, which is not always necessarily correlated.
Losing weight may be necessary for good health for those who are overweight or obese and are suffering because of it. Often times this includes problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. However, those who may be overweight or obese may not have any health problems. And on the flip side, you do not need to be overweight or obese to be unhealthy. Someone who is thin may be interpreted as healthy in the eyes of our society but thin people too can develop high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
What about the population of people we often forget about, those who are underweight? Our society is so obsessed with losing weight, that we often overlook those who need or desire to gain weight. For the average person, not eating enough doesn’t seem like an issue but for some it is a concern and being underweight can mean that they are unhealthy. Other problems such as deficiencies in vitamins, protein or iron can be hazardous to our health and does not discriminate based on size.
Now how about someone with a healthy body mass index (BMI)? We may automatically consider this person healthy but how about one’s (sometimes) silent and invisible health, their mental health. Mental health is another issue that is often overlooked. Many people don’t realize that your mental health can affect your physical health and vice versa.
Being healthy can range from needing to add more fruits and veggies into your diet to seeing a therapist. There are many ways to be healthy and all are equally important to living a happy and full life.
Make being healthy a lifestyle, not a fad!