Exercise

Various exercises are great for maintaining a healthy weight, building muscle, and losing any unwanted fat. It is important to stay active daily through sports, going to the gym, working out at home, walking, or participating in other physical activities. In order to lose weight, one must burn more calories than one consumes. Adults should get two and a half hours of aerobic exercise each week. The exercises should be spaced out and last at least ten minutes at a time. Find ways to increase daily activity in order to achieve a healthy weight. Walk more often, climb stairs, and do various household activities.

The benefits of exercising include stronger bones, a better mood and help with anxiety, a reduction of the risk of having a heart attack or stroke, and help with managing high blood pressure and cholesterol. Resistance exercises can help to build muscle strength by making your body work harder. Aerobic exercises build endurance, which helps with the body’s cardiovascular system. Other exercises such as Yoga practices can help wit balance and flexibility, which can help build a better posture. Exercising helps people to maneuver better and live longer, healthier lives.

http://exercise.about.com/ 

Eating Healthy

According to the Healthy Eating Pyramid, exercise and weight control is the basis of the pyramid because a healthy weight is obtained by maintaining a normal weight through healthy eating and daily exercise. Whole grains, healthy fats and oils, and vegetables and fruits are the level above exercise in the pyramid. The body needs carbohydrates mostly for energy. The best sources of carbohydrates can be found in whole grains such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and brown rice. Whole grains cannot be processed quickly by the body, which keeps blood sugar and insulin levels from rising, then falling, too quickly. Better control over blood sugar and insulin can keep hunger under control and prevents the development of type 2 diabetes. It can also help prevent heart disease. Healthy fats and oils include healthy unsaturated fats such as olive oil, canola oil, soy oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and other vegetable oils, trans fat-free margarines, nuts, seeds, avocados, and fatty fish such as salmon. These healthy fats help improve cholesterol levels when eaten in place of highly processed carbohydrates, but can also protect the heart from sudden and potentially deadly rhythm problems. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables has great benefits. It can decrease the chances of having a heart attack or stroke, possibly protect against some types of cancers, lower blood pressure, help prevent diverticulitis, and guard against cataract and macular degeneration.

On the Healthy Food Pyramid, a level above the fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and Tofu, as well as fish, poultry, and eggs are described. Nuts, seeds, beans, and Tofu are plant foods that are excellent sources of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Various beans are included that are typically sold dried. Many types of nuts contain healthy fats in variety packs, and they can also be good for your heart. Fish, poultry, and eggs are important sources of protein. Eating fish can help to reduce the risk of heart disease. Chicken and turkey are also good sources of protein and can be low in saturated fat. Eggs, which contain fairly high levels of cholesterol, are not so bad. An egg for breakfast is much better than a doughnut or bagel. People with diabetes or heart disease, however, should limit their egg yolk consumption to no more than 3 a week. Egg whites, however, are very high in protein.

A level above eggs on the pyramid is dairy products, typically 1 to 2 servings per day, or vitamin D or calcium supplements. Calcium, vitamin D, exercise, and much more contribute to building bone and keeping bones strong. Dairy products contain much calcium and vitamin D, which are important for health. Milk and cheese are not the healthiest ways to obtain calcium and vitamin D because of saturated fat. Low-fat or no-fat products are best to be consumed.

The top of the pyramid contains red meat, processed meat, and butter, as well as refined grains such as white bread, rice, and pasta, potatoes, sugary drinks and sweets, and salt. These items should be consumed sparingly. Red and processed meats and butter contain much saturated fat and added sodium, which are linked to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer. Refined grains, potatoes, sugary products, and salt can cause fast increases in blood sugar that can lead to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic disorders. All these different levels of the pyramid are created to show people the right portions and types of food products that are best to eat daily and what else is essential for a healthy lifestyle. 

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid-full-story/index.html 

Anorexia and Bulimia

One or two out of every one hundred students in America struggle with an eating disorder. Thousands of teenagers each year develop eating disorders, or problems with weight, eating, or body image. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are two types of eating disorders with distinct clinical presentations. Anorexia involves reduced caloric intake that is brought about by self-induced starvation. People with this disorder have a fear of weight gain and a distorted view of their body shape and size. They are usually very thin and underweight. Bulimia also involves reduced caloric intake, but is brought about by binge eating and then gastrointestinal purging. People with this disorder may be a normal weight or can even be overweight, which makes it a little more difficult to detect. People suffering from bulimia secretly eat large amount of food, typically junk foods, at once until they are full. They then purge themselves by vomiting, or by using laxatives or excessive exercise.

People who develop these eating disorders may start off just wanting to lose some weight and get in shape; however, the urge to eat less, to purge, or to over-exercise gets addicting and becomes too difficult to stop. They often view themselves as being fat or have an intense fear of becoming fat. Some signs of anorexia are that the person becomes very thing, frail, or emaciated, he or she becomes obsessed with eating, food, and weight control, the person repeatedly weighs himself or herself, only eat certain foods, excessively exercise, feel fat, withdraw from social activities, become depressed, lethargic, and feel cold a lot, and count food portions carefully. Signs of bulimia include fear of weight gain, intense unhappiness with body size, shape, and weight, go to the bathroom immediately after meals, only eat diet or low-fat foods while not binging, regularly buy laxatives, diuretics, or enemas, spend most of his or her time exercising, and withdraw from social activities. A definite cause is not certain about eating disorders. Often times the onset of eating disorders may be caused by physical and emotional changes in teenagers, as well as academic pressures and peer pressure. Images of fit models or other famous individuals may also cause someone to believe they should look just like that person, thus creating an eating problem for the individual. Some sports can also create an atmosphere for the onset of eating disorders because athletes need to maintain a certain body weight in order to compete. 

There are various effects or risks posed by eating disorders. Different problems may arise, including high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Serious health issues may develop, such as hearth conditions or kidney failure. Anorexia nervosa puts the body in starvation mode; meaning at least 15% of the individual’s body weight is less than average, causing the body to have less fat to keep organs and other body parts healthy. The lack of nutrition can cause a drop in blood pressure, pulse, and breathing ate, hair loss and fingernail breakage, loss of periods, lanugo hair, lightheadedness and inability to concentrate, anemia, swollen joints, and brittle bones. Bulimia nervosa involves lack of nutrition as well, causing constant stomach pain, damage to the stomach and kidneys, tooth decay, “chipmunk cheeks,” loss of periods, and loss of mineral potassium. Treatment solutions for these eating disorders include therapy or counseling, support from family and friends to help the individual get back on the right track, working wit dietitians, medical doctors, mental health professionals, and other professionals. Nutritional intervention is recommended as well as psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in either the ambulatory or the hospital setting.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2181833 
http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/problems/eat_disorder.html#

Obesity

Obesity is a term describing body weight that is much greater than what is considered healthy. A person’s body mass index, or BMI, is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Adults with a BMI between 25 kg/m^2 and 30 kg/m^2 are considered overweight. Adults with a BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m^2 are considered to be obese. Anyone who is 100 pounds or more overweight or who has a BMI greater than or equal to 40 kg/m^2 is considered to be morbidly obese. The American society promotes increased food intake, non-healthful foods, and physical inactivity. This in return affects the rise in obesity in the United States.

Causes of obesity include eating more food than your body can use, drinking too much alcohol, and not getting enough exercise. Taking in more calories than your body burns leads to being overweight and will eventually lead to obesity. The human body stores unused calories as fat, not muscle. Some other causes of obesity may result from an underactive thyroid, which can lead to 5- 10 pounds of weight gain. Also, some antidepressants and antipsychotic medications may also contribute to weight gain and obesity. Obesity may also be a hereditary trait, making genetic factors a possible contributor in the development of obesity. Children of obese parents are 10 times more likely to become obese themselves than children of normal-weight parents. People at a higher risk for obesity include lower income groups, former smokers, people with chronic mental illness, people with disabilities, and people with a sedentary lifestyle. Obese people are also at greater risk for developing other medical problems, such as heart disease, kidney failure, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Treatment solutions are available for people with obesity, but they need to make the effort to follow through with the decision to become a healthy weight. Regular exercise and a healthy diet are critical components when it comes to controlling weight. The safest method over a long-term period would be to burn more calories than consumed. Exercising daily and eating the right foods and amounts of food are essential to losing the unwanted weight. Maintaining a diet schedule is very difficult; therefore, support from family and friends makes the effort to stay on track easier. Weight-loss medications as well as herbal remedies are also available to help get rid of excess weight. Many of these products do not work and pose dangers to users. It is important to consult health care providers before beginning any medications or other methods to lose weight. Surgery is another option mainly for very obese people having trouble losing the weight with diet and exercise. After surgery, however, exercise and healthy eating must follow. Eating less, but eating the right portions each day can help to maintain a healthy weight. Individuals must have the drive to lose the weight and keep it off in order to see results. If no one has the drive to maintain health and fitness, then the future of the active world will be in danger. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004552/
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/

Health and Fitness

http://www.christophermohs.com/archives/date/2010/10

Curious about different health issues or ways to improve health? In the next few blogs, health and fitness will be discussed through various topics. Obesity, anorexia and bulimia, eating healthy, exercise, and dieting will all separately be explained. The causes, risks, and treatment solutions for obesity, anorexia, and bulimia will be mentioned. Also, the benefits and other information about eating healthy, exercising, and dieting will be provided. Keep a watchful eye for the upcoming blogs on health and fitness! Learn and enjoy!

http://health.discovery.com/videos/everyday-fitness-motivation.html

Blind Melon Quarter Three Blogging Assessment

Since the beginning of quarter two, my readership has greatly increased. My readers are no longer simply my teacher and fellow classmates in the Honors World Literature class. I have expanded my readers to include other friends and family members, as well as unknown individuals who somehow stumbled across my blog. Things changed when I began implementing media, such pictures and videos, and live links to add better features to my posts. I began discussing topics that pertained to people as a whole instead of simply writing up a blog about something that occurred in my life that particular week. My blogs now examine various topics that many find interesting, such as music, mythical creatures, and natural disasters. Even though my blogs continue to focus on matters I find interesting that week, these various topics are not solely focused on my life experiences, which may have helped to attract more viewers. My views increased significantly, from the highest number of views in a month in quarter two at forty-seven, to the highest views in a month in quarter three at ninety-one.

My post titled “Music” was very popular. This post received the most page views of all my posts. It described a controversial opinion about the music heard today, and provided links to two examples of music videos that supported the argument. I believe this was the most popular because it referred to something everyone, including both parents and teenagers, can understand and form opinions on the topic quite easily. Music is something everyone listens to and knows about, which may account for the increased number of readers for this post. The post with the second highest number of page views was titled “Musicals; making a difference, one song at a time,” which discusses a new different musicals and their importance in society today. This post may have received so many views for similar reasons. Musicals have been around for quite some time because they enhance the wonder of music in our world. The musicals I referred to are popular and many have seen them, which may be a major factor in the number of viewers. My third highest viewed post was titled “An unfortunate accident.” This post was about an issue that arose when a man died in a hospital parking lot. This terrible accident sparked controversy among the public, which made this an interesting topic to discuss. Posts with the most views seemed to cause my audience to form their own opinions about matters, creating intriguing topics for readers to enjoy and post comments. Notifying people through Facebook may have also contributed to the increased number of readers for these posts.

Under my stats, the referring sites included Facebook and Google. Many of my readers were my friends on Facebook. Using social networks greatly assisted me with obtaining an adequate number of viewers, although I hope the numbers will rise in the fourth quarter. I have not received any statistics for keyword searches yet because I have just started attempting this feature. Many of my visitors were teenagers, but also included many family members who enjoy lending a helping hand to fellow family members. I am very thankful for everyone who contributed to my increased success with blogging for the first time.

Questions that remain for me would include how I might continually increase my viewers as time progresses. Using Facebook seemed to work for me, as well as texting friends my page URL. Topics pertaining to media topics or characters seemed to peak interest in my blog; therefore, this approach seemed to work best. Simple posts about events or my thoughts on my own life, which were topics in quarter two, did not work so well for me when I had just started my blogging experience for my World Literature class. Putting more effort in to searching for topics that would be interesting for not only me, but others around the world as well seemed to work in my favor. This focus caused me to begin researching a little on the topics of choice for my posts, which allowed me to support my opinion better, while also leaving the opportunity open for readers to write their own thoughts and feelings on the matters. I would award myself a ninety-four because I was successfully able to increase my number of viewers, while also continuing to write in my own style on topics that still interested me, but I had the public in mind while blogging. I put forth much effort in to writing these blogs in order to attract more readers. I spent much time carefully choosing appropriate words that sufficiently expressed my thoughts and the facts on the matters. I kept my readers in mind, while remaining true to myself.

Throughout this blogging experience, I have learned much about audience. Readers seem to enjoy topics geared more toward things shown in the media, such as the natural disasters that plagued Japan, the accident outside the hospital, musical films and shows, and the major topic of music. Audiences enjoy reading about aspects that they are familiar with, or topics that create certain feelings within them. I can use this new information about audience in the future by cleverly voicing my opinion in new ways that are enhanced by factual information, and pose questions that allow the audience to state opinions on the various matters. I see my writing persona a little differently now because I am no longer writing for a group of ten people; I am striving for an audience of hundreds of viewers. My writing is now geared more toward facts, opinions, and interacting questions to make the audience think about the topic of the blog. I work my hardest to keep up with my blog and discover new ideas for interesting posts to create. My audience is always in mind, which makes writing difficult at times, but if I keep my own thoughts and opinions in mind, the rest will fall in to place accordingly.

Devastation in Japan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709598

Natural disasters recently plagued Japan, causing much destruction. An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 struck with much force relatively 250 miles northeast of Tokyo. After facing the damage of the earthquake, not much time had passed for the Japanese to prepare themselves until a tsunami devastating much of Tokyo and doing a significant amount of damage to their nuclear power plant. Officials say that there were three hundred and fifty deaths as well as five hundred people missing; however, they fear that the toll for both will be much higher. The wave reached far inland; cars, houses/buildings, and ships were all swept away while motorist were seen trying to speed away from the incoming water. Meanwhile, the tsunami was traveling five hundred miles per hour across the Pacific Ocean, the equivalent of a major jetliner, hitting California, Oregon and Washington with six to seven foot waves, but not much damage was reported.

Although the city was facing extreme levels of emergency, the nuclear power plant was experiencing a much bigger threat. The combined damage of the earthquake and tsunami together created the ongoing threat the nuclear power plant poses. The cooling system was severely damaged and as a result the plant and surrounding areas had to be evacuated. Facing such heightened levels of danger, a few men stayed behind, by their own free will, to continually pour water on the reactor to prevent it from exploding. As an added measure of security some of the radioactivity had to be released in the air to help prevent an explosion. In the meantime though, four other nuclear power plants were successfully shut down. The radiation has spread across the Pacific Ocean to even as far as the state of Wyoming.
           
Despite this world crisis, this only adds on to the chaos existing currently, ranging from the war in Iraq to healing from Hurricane Katrina, as well as the oil spill off the coast of Louisiana; not to mention the danger the natural environment is confronting. When natural disasters occur, often more than one country is affected. This creates a combined effort to help the damaged areas, such as the efforts that have been formed to provide aid for Japan during this difficult time. My opinion is that we can all do something and should in fact lend a further helping hand to those in need, whether the contribution be big or small, some effort is better than none.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12721492