Your health comes first
Health awareness is the most talked about subject these days. People are willing to walk a few extra miles to remain hale and healthy.
It is commonly said that health is wealth. The reason for this attribution is that people value the importance of being hale and healthy. Nonetheless, there are no quick-fix solutions to attain such an objective. Health and wellness are proportionate properties, and have a lot to do with nutrition, physical activity, medicine consciousness, and last but not the least, lifestyle.
Identifying personal health risks and making the right choices when it comes to food, medication and extra-curricular activities, especially exercise, are indispensable features. The million-dollar question, however, is how to define health and what it takes to lead a stress-free life. The answer is simple and selfexplanatory: the moment each individual takes charge of his/ her health, life will be much more composed.
In this age of globalisation, challenges to health are extraordinary. Obesity, diabetics, hypertension, psychological disorders and cholesterol are some of the symptoms that need to be fought out tooth and nail. They could lead to paralysis, heart attack, stroke, or even renal ailments.
Recently, surveys on health and wellness by reputed institutions worldwide, involved in nutrition studies, say that more
than 80 per cent of people are willing to pay a premium for food with healthy attributes. Similarly, there is no dearth of people who are conscious of their lifestyle, and want to take time out for activities like going to the gym, swimming and weight-loss exercises. This is where a new industry is born.
Drugs, genetically modified food, exercise gadgets and executive healthcare packages are born out of necessity, and there is a billion dollar industry associated with it. Social media, modern modes of commutation and a lifestyle with pause, accompanied by irregular diet, set the road map for health awareness issues. Medics, nursing staff, family, peers and community groups have a role to play in educating the masses, and help them stay away from the line that puts them on the other side of the turf.
Obesity is now the number one disease in the Arab world. A large number of retailers and food manufacturers are coming up with alternate mechanisms, diets, drugs and prescriptions to help a large number of people stay away from putting on the extra calories, and do away with extra fat.
Fifty-five per cent of people in the UAE believe that they are overweight, and there is ongoing awareness to shelve the menace. Regular visits to health clinics, keeping track of blood pressure; blood sugar and weight are some of the starting points that lead to health consciousness. Coupled with this is the resolution to maintain a balanced diet. The addition of fish, salad, vegetable and fruits and less intake of red meat in diet are picking up momentum in this part of the world.