Increasing obesity rates reflect a serious health problem facing modern societies. In Europe, obesity is showing an increasing trend, making it imperative to increase efforts to combat obesity in many countries. Obesity is a condition generally characterised by the accumulation of excess weight. Many factors are effective in the widespread occurrence of this condition, but generally wrong eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, genetic predisposition and environmental factors are at the forefront. Factors such as increased consumption of fast food, seating arrangements in workplaces, and inactivity caused by technological developments contribute to obesity.
Obesity can cause a number of health problems. It can lead to serious health complications such as heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension, joint problems and psychological problems. Societies need to focus on healthy eating habits, regular exercise and general lifestyle changes in the fight against obesity. In addition, increasing health policies and public awareness against obesity can play a critical role in controlling the obesity epidemic.
Healthy Eating Habits
Healthy eating habits play an important role in maintaining our overall health and improving our quality of life. A balanced diet involves getting all the nutrients the body needs in the right amounts. This includes essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. A healthy diet should include a variety of foods such as fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and protein sources.
Excessive consumption of fast food and processed foods can disrupt healthy eating habits and lead to many health problems such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Therefore, preferring natural and fresh products instead of processed foods is the basis of a healthy diet. In addition, factors such as adequate water consumption, regular exercise and sleep patterns are also integral to a healthy lifestyle. Adopting healthy eating habits increases energy levels, strengthens the immune system and generally improves quality of life.
Importance of Drinking Water
A healthy diet includes taking the nutrients the body needs in balanced and correct amounts. While ensuring this balance, water consumption stands out as an indispensable element of a healthy eating habit. Water supports digestion processes and facilitates the absorption of nutrients carried in the body. It also helps weight control by ensuring the regular functioning of metabolism. Drinking enough water along with a healthy diet improves skin health, increases energy levels and improves overall quality of life.
Drinking water is also an effective strategy for controlling hunger. Drinking water frequently can reduce the tendency to overeat by increasing feelings of satiety. In addition, drinking water helps the process of removing toxins from the body and thus creates a detox effect. Since water loss increases especially during physical activity and in hot weather conditions, maintaining the habit of drinking water is of great importance in terms of maintaining the body's water balance.
Portion Control in Healthy Nutrition
Healthy eating is not only about which foods we choose, but also about how much of these foods we consume. Portion control is an important concept emphasised by many health experts. This involves getting the right amounts of nutrients at each meal, thus helping to manage body weight while maintaining energy balance. Overeating can lead to a number of health problems, such as obesity, heart disease and metabolic problems.
Portion control also supports the regular functioning of the digestive system. Getting the right amounts of food is processed more effectively by the body, nutrients are absorbed and energy is produced. Furthermore, portion control allows people to choose their meals more consciously and to better understand the feeling of satiety associated with eating. This is important for healthy weight management and overall quality of life in the long term. Adopting portion control not only favours foods with high nutritional value, but also contributes to developing a healthy eating habit by consuming the right amounts at each meal.
In addition, preferring snacks such as walnuts and almonds instead of junk food and adding healthy snacks helps you to control portions.
Exercise and Sleep Pattern
A healthy diet is not limited to choosing the right foods; it should also be considered as a whole, together with regular exercise and healthy sleep habits. Exercise improves body functions, accelerates metabolism and contributes to weight control. Physical activity also supports muscle and bone health, has positive effects on the cardiovascular system and increases overall energy levels. When combined with a healthy diet, regular exercise strengthens the body and becomes the key to healthy living.
Sleep patterns should be recognised as an important element of a healthy lifestyle. Adequate and quality sleep helps the body to re-energise, repair cells and strengthen the immune system. In addition, lack of sleep can lead to weight gain, mental disorders, focusing difficulties and a decrease in overall quality of life. Maintaining sleep patterns helps the biological clock to run regularly, which can have positive effects on hormonal balance and metabolism.
Exercise and sleep patterns complement each other. Regular exercise can improve the quality of sleep by increasing energy expenditure. However, it is better to do exercise during the day rather than late in the day, as intense exercise can cause insomnia. When combined, a healthy diet, regular exercise and sleep patterns support an individual's overall health, increase energy levels and improve quality of life. Therefore, these three factors should be handled with a complementary approach and kept in balance.
Avoiding Alcohol
A healthy diet includes not only food choices but also drinking habits. Alcohol is often overlooked as part of a healthy lifestyle, but can be incompatible with a healthy diet. Alcohol has a high calorie content and can cause weight gain when consumed in excess. In addition, alcohol can negatively affect liver health and lead to liver diseases in the long term. Alcohol can also weaken the immune system and affect mood when consumed irregularly.
Avoiding alcohol along with healthy eating habits is important for maintaining overall health. Even when alcohol is consumed in small amounts, care should be taken in terms of weight control, given the caloric contribution of such drinks. To minimise the negative health effects of alcohol consumption, it is important to consume in moderation and consciously. This is not only compatible with a healthy diet, but also contributes to improving overall quality of life. Avoiding the harmful effects of alcohol is an important step towards achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight, increasing energy levels and improving overall quality of life.
Avoid Temporary Goals
Firstly, we must clearly define our goal. When setting your goal, you should focus on the underlying cause and aim to get rid of this problem that you have set for yourself for a long time, instead of setting temporary goals such as looking thinner on holiday after 1 month or getting into the dress you want to buy at the wedding after 2 months.
Intrinsic Motivation and Patience
Healthy eating is important not only for physical health, but also for mental and emotional well-being. Intrinsic motivation plays a key role in the process of adopting healthy eating habits. An individual's own intrinsic values, goals and commitment to health, rather than external factors, can be a more sustainable source of motivation for long-term success. Intrinsic motivation enables the individual to adopt and maintain healthy eating preferences.
Patience is also a critical element in the healthy eating process. Instead of expecting quick results, it is important to be patient for healthy weight management and lifestyle changes. Patience is necessary to overcome the difficulties encountered in the process of adopting new eating habits and improving lifestyle. Sudden dietary changes or rapid weight loss goals are often unsustainable and do not serve the purpose of adopting a healthy lifestyle. A patient approach is important to automatise healthy eating habits and to maintain these habits in the long term.
Intrinsic motivation and patience are a powerful combination that work together to improve eating habits. Intrinsic motivation allows a person to set their own health goals and motivate themselves to achieve these goals. Patience helps to tolerate the difficulties that may arise in the process of achieving these goals. Strategies such as setting personal goals, celebrating successes, building support systems and monitoring one's own progress can be used to strengthen an individual's intrinsic motivation. This can form the basis of a long-term approach to maintaining healthy eating habits.
Note: If necessary, take vitamin and mineral supplements on the advice of a health professional. Remember that such supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet.
If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obesity range.