I wish to motivate mindful lifestyle choices and increase your willingness to adopt healthier lifestyles.
As you make the best your youth, let us pay attention to the daily lifestyle choices for these have a negative or positive contribution to our health, affecting how you enjoy the fruits of your hard work later in life.
Yes, you need you have a healthy lifestyle.
Let’s apreciate the value of healthy sleep, stress management, proper hydration, physical activity and healthy eating on bone, heart, reproductive, skin and gastro intestinal health.
Despite the known benefits of healthy lifestyles, young adults rarely take interest in adopting healthy lifestyles.
Let’s not wait to desperately start healthy habits only after experiencing the scientifically proven consequences of unhealthy lifestyles, Regis Dietitian
- Failure to have health checks may result in late diagnosis of incurable disease conditions.
- Low fiber diets are continuously causing constipation (associated with complications like hemorrhoids) in young adults.
- Low immunity
- Excessive intake of trans-fats and saturated fats leading to increased buildup of cholesterol in the blood vessels increasing risk of hypertension.
- Obesity during young adult years increases risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
- Excessive weight may affect fertility and may increase pregnancy complications.
- Extreme thinness increases susceptibility to infections.
- Inactive lifestyles may result in excessive body fat
- Alcohol intake contributes to excessive weight and worse still liver damage
- Missed meals are linked to peptic ulcers
- Crush diets can be unhealthy
Healthy habits are easier to adopt during childhood and youth so let’s start now;
Nurturing healthy habits can be done through improved daily lifestyle choices, practical guide to healthier habits:
- Exercise 5 times each week
Beginner choices:
Get guidance from a fitness expert
Walk more
Rope skipping
Short runs (3 to 5kms)
Aerobic classes at gym
Dance classes at gym
Any exercise you love
- Sleep:
Atleast seven hours sleep.
Minimize social media use during night hours.
- Hydrate: Drink a glass of water every 2hours
- Healthy eating: daily guide for young adults
Low budget healthy eating is possible with bulk buys of fruit and vegetables.
- Responsible drinking: Do not rely on alcohol as a source of happiness. Exercise on stressful day. Dance to enjoy a party, or do your moves require you to be drunk, I doubt. Alcohol is not bad but excess is bad and we almost always know when we starting to make drinking a habit and that’s the time to stop or gradually reduce consumption.
- Routine health checks:
Blood pressure, blood lipids, blood glucose and weight status checks.
Cervical cancer screening for females above 25 years
Completing prescribed treatments and medical reviews
HIV testing and safe sex.
- Internet discipline: gave an app that restricts use of social media for over an hour per day ( you could unknowingly spend over an hour daily). Spare time for productive activities like exercise.
- Road safety: use mortocyle head helmets, sit belts, avoid drunk driving and keep off phone while on the road.
Individual commitment is important in health behavior change, find inspiration (the WHY) for healthy lifestyle and have a wellness coach or take the journey with a friend. Regis Dietitian
Healthy youth are productive youth.
Written for a youth inspiration night at Gudie Leisure Farm, Najjera by Nantege Regina Dietitian and Enterpreneur_ Point of Touch Nutrition and Health Services, Uganda.
Regis Dietitian 