THE IMPORTANCE OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE FROM A YOUTHFUL AGE
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Being healthy is necessary for human existence, but it is important to note that addressing health problems at an early age prevents the growth of any impairment and costly health care maintenance needs in the future.
The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disdain or infirmity.
Health is very important since it allows us to feel emotions like happiness, contentment, curiosity, and satisfaction, all of which help us function well. Health also plays a role in supporting our mental health, by giving us a greater ability to manage our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. This helps us to maintain good relationships, set and achieve goals, and find meaning and purpose in our endeavours.
Addressing health at an early age prevents bigger and often more costly healthcare needs from occurring in the future, and it helps equip young people to learn and practice self-care and effectively navigate, which will help the healthcare system to better use services.
While youths have a better chance of improving their health and well-being now than ever, an estimated 1.2 million still die each year mostly from causes that could have been averted.
Why health is important for youth
Adolescence is a critical transitional period that includes biological changes of puberty and development tasks such as normative exploration and learning to be independent.
Adolescent health encompasses changing transitions within multiple domains, including the physical, social-emotional, cognitive, and intellectual. The fast-paced development of these different domains can lead to phenomenal growth during this period. This growth can also occur at different rates, which can put adolescents at a higher risk for risk-taking behaviour and emerging mental health issues. It is important to understand adolescent development, environmental influences, and the risk and protective factors that can affect adolescent health so that organizations and individuals who work with youth can support the health and healthy development of all adolescents.
High levels of health in youth can help them flourish in life, as well as act as a protective factor against some of the challenges that may arise during their young years.
Benefits of health for youths
1. Academic Performance: Improves attention and memory.
2. Brain Health: Reduces risk of depression.
3. Muscular Fitness: Builds strong muscles and endurance.
4. Heart and Lung Health: Improved blood pressure and aerobic fitness.
5. Cardiometabolic Health: Helps maintain normal blood sugar levels.
6. Long-Term Health: Reduces risk of several chronic diseases.
7. Bone Strength: Strengthening bones.
8. Healthy Weight: Helps regulate body weight and reduce body fat.
Normalizing healthy behaviours such as exercise and making healthy choices are skills we need help to focus on.
The interesting thing about health is that it can have an upward spiral effect. If you do something that increases your well-being it’s likely to make you feel good, which in turn will help give you the motivation to do something else that will improve your well-being and make you feel better and happier.
Being a youth is a gift, and staying healthy as a youth gives you the power to overcome any form of illness in old age, and helps you stay happy, peaceful, and strong. Practice being healthy at a young age, as it helps you stay active.