Overhauling your lifestyle to improve your health can seem daunting and, quite simply, impossible so most of us won’t even consider the challenge.
However, starting with two simple aspects of your routine can snowball into real results that have substantial impact.
Eating more fruits and vegetables and cutting back on television viewing are two lifestyle changes that can effect dramatic changes in the ability to continue on a path to healthy living.
To determine which changes were most effective, the researchers recruited 204 adults aged 21 to 60, who engaged in all four unhealthy diet- and activity-related behaviors. The participants were divided into four treatment groups, each of which was assigned two lifestyle changes: increasing fruit and vegetable intake and increasing physical activity; decreasing fat consumption and reducing leisure time spent sedentary; decreasing fat intake and increasing physical activity; or increasing fruit and vegetable intake and decreasing sedentary leisure.
The participants engaged in their treatment regimens for three weeks and self-reported their progress by logging their data into a personal digital assistant every day and sending it to a coach who communicated with the participants as needed by telephone or email.
“Our message is to quit and exercise — to do both is the best,” says Chi Pang Wen, a professor at the National Health Research Institute and China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, who presented the data at the World Congress of Cardiology meeting in Dubai.
“Trying to quit is a painful process,” Wen told Shots by phone from Dubai. “That painful process creates a vacuum. This substitute, which is exercise, will distract the smokers from thinking every day about the need to smoke.”
Even for smokers who can’t quit, walking just 15 minutes a day six days a week is enough to improve their health.
Become a more pleasant member of your family by feeling better. Improve your productivity at work because working out makes your mind more focused. Relieve day-to-day stress. Improve your mood. Enjoy higher levels of energy and vitality. Spend more social time with others. Take time to enjoy the outdoors.
Research has found that while 30 per day may be prohibitive to most people, 15 minutes of moderate exercise is achievable.
The study found that 3 years could be added to your life by doing a very minimum of activity. Also, quality of life improves with a lower incidence of cancer for the exercisers.
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This blog is for consumers of health care and medical services. Basically, it’s for everyone. For health issues you should always see a doctor or qualified medical professional - we are not dispensing medical advice. You should, however, be an educated consumer, so we offer information to help you start the process to become educated and to ask important questions. There are many excellent resources on the web, along with all sorts of conflicting opinions and advice. The key is to use a wide variety of resources to learn and access information, so you can ask the important questions when you are with your doctor or health professional.
