Health and Fitness

Atkins (Low-Carbohydrate Diet)

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The Atkins Diet is a very popular diet. Dr. Robert Atkins' concept, somewhat exaggerated by the media, that a person can lose weight while eating significant quantities of fat and protein but strictly reducing carbohydrates, has captured the public's imagination. The success of those who tried the diet varied depending on the degree they adhered to the long term stages of the diet structure. The Atkins diet was originally designed for diabetes patients who wanted to manage their insulin levels more effectively. The diet was also embraced by those seeking a diet that allows eating to satiation.

Atkins discourages refined carbohydrate intake and encourages protein intake, especially in the form of meat. The diet encourages the consumption of fruits and non-starchy vegetables for the provision of fiber and nutrients; it takes a somewhat neutral stand on fat intake.
Many people experience rapid initial weight loss on Atkins, some of which is due to depletion of glycogen stores in the liver. Loss of glycogen is associated with loss of water weight, since the body stores up to four pounds of water for each pound of glycogen.

Low carbohydrate diets have been shown to reduce the fasting levels of triglycerides. Elevated triglycerides are a demonstrated risk factor for heart disease. (Low-fat diets also reduce fasting levels of triglycerides.)

A low-carbohydrate diet may not be suitable as a weight-maintenance diet (long-term). The products of fat metabolism (lipolysis) and protein metabolism (gluconeogenesis) include ketones which can be harmful.
Note: Any successful weight-loss diet will cause some acidosis; symptoms range from mild fatigue to severe joint pain. Acidosis can be controlled by drinking water (in large amounts) and taking antacid supplements (or eating vegetables grown in alkaline soil).

Low-fat Diets

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Low-fat diets were popular during the 1980s and 1990s, encouraging people to eat foods low in fat (or without fat altogether) and instead eat foods high in carbohydrates. For instance, these diets told people to eat less fat junk food or sweet snacks, instead, you can choose low-calorie, and high-fiber foods like fruits and vegetables. These will help people feel full longer, and make any diet plan more effective. Also, plan your meals and buy the food you need so that you will not be tempted to turn to fast food when you are hungry.

The general public came to believe, partly due to information from low-fat diet proponents, that carbohydrates were "energy food" and that only fat made people fat. This led to high consumption of low-fat foods rich in refined carbohydrates (notably corn syrup), which led some people to gain more weight.

Some low-fat diets were healthier, focusing on consumption of whole grains, vegetables and lean meats. (See Pritikin diet.) But even these diets did not recognize the importance of essential fatty acids. Some low-fat foods were actually more harmful than the non-low-fat foods, since all fat was removed, both "good" and "bad."

Low-fat Diets

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Psychological Aspects of Weight-Loss Dieting

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Diets affect the "energy in" component of the energy balance by limiting or altering the distribution of foods. Techniques that affect the appetite can limit energy intake by affecting the desire to overeat.

Consumption of low-energy, fiber-rich foods, such as non-starchy vegetables, is effective in obtaining satiation (the feeling of "fullness"). Exercise is also useful in controlling appetite. (Extreme physical fatigue, such as experienced by soldiers and mountain climbers, can make eating a difficult chore.)

The use of drugs to control appetite is (potentially) dangerous. Stimulants are often taken as a means to ignore (normal, healthy) hunger by people who are not actually overweight. Even those who are overweight to the point that it will impact their long-term health are unlikely to benefit from complete fasting or radical changes.

Habitual or emotional eating is a common problem. Sufferers often turn to self-help books, hypnosis and group therapy. While these sources can sometimes be of assistance, dieters must beware. Some "diet gurus" are charlatans, others are well-meaning but focus on psychology or philosophy at the expense of practical solutions. Diets designed to appeal to people emotionally are often either very difficult to follow (i.e., too strict) or useless (i.e., too lenient).

Proper Nutrition

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It is important to understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss. Weight loss typically involves the loss of fat, water and muscle. A dieter can lose weight without losing much fat. Ideally, overweight people should seek to lose fat and preserve muscle, since muscle burns more calories than fat. Generally, the more muscle mass one has, the higher one's metabolism is, resulting in more calories being burned, even at rest. Since muscles are more dense than fat, muscle loss results in little loss of physical bulk compared with fat loss. To determine whether weight loss is due to fat, various methods of measuring body fat percentage have been developed.

Muscle loss during weight loss can be restricted by regularly lifting weights (or doing push-ups and other strength-oriented calisthenics) and by maintaining sufficient protein intake. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Dietary Reference Intake for protein is "0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for adults."

Those on low-carbohydrate diets, and those doing particularly strenuous exercise, may wish to increase their protein intake which is necessary. However, there may be risks involved. According to the American Heart Association, excessive protein intake may cause liver and kidney problems and may be a risk factor for heart disease. There is no conclusive evidence that moderately high protein diets in healthy individuals are dangerous, however. It has only been shown that these diets are dangerous in individuals who already have kidney and liver problems.

Fat Loss versus Muscle Loss

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It is important to understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss. Weight loss typically involves the loss of fat, water and muscle. A dieter can lose weight without losing much fat. Ideally, overweight people should seek to lose fat and preserve muscle, since muscle burns more calories than fat. Generally, the more muscle mass one has, the higher one's metabolism is, resulting in more calories being burned, even at rest. Since muscles are more dense than fat, muscle loss results in little loss of physical bulk compared with fat loss. To determine whether weight loss is due to fat, various methods of measuring body fat percentage have been developed.

Muscle loss during weight loss can be restricted by regularly lifting weights (or doing push-ups and other strength-oriented calisthenics) and by maintaining sufficient protein intake. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Dietary Reference Intake for protein is "0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for adults."
Those on low-carbohydrate diets, and those doing particularly strenuous exercise, may wish to increase their protein intake which is necessary. However, there may be risks involved.

According to the American Heart Association, excessive protein intake may cause liver and kidney problems and may be a risk factor for heart disease. There is no conclusive evidence that moderately high protein diets in healthy individuals are dangerous, however. It has only been shown that these diets are dangerous in individuals who already have kidney and liver problems.

Physical Exercise

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Physical exercise is an important complement to dieting in securing weight loss. Aerobic exercise is also an important part of maintaining normal good health, especially the muscular strength of the heart. To be useful, aerobic exercise requires maintaining a target heart rate of above 50 percent of one's maximum heart rate for 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week. Brisk walking can accomplish this.

The ability of a few hours a week of exercise to contribute to weight loss can be overestimated. To illustrate, consider a 100-kilogram man who wants to lose 10 kilograms and assume that he eats just enough to maintain his weight (at rest), so that weight loss can only come from exercise. Those 10 kilograms converted to work are equivalent to about 350 megajoules. (We use an approximation of the standard 37 kilojoules or 9 Calories per gram of fat.) Now assume that his chosen exercise is stairclimbing and that he is 20 percent efficient at converting chemical energy into mechanical work (this is within measured ranges). To lose the weight, he must ascend 70 kilometers. A man of normal fitness (like him) will be tired after 500 meters of climbing (about 150 flights of stairs), so he needs to exercise every day for 140 days (to reach his target).

The minimum safe dietary energy intake (without medical supervision) is 75 percent of that needed to maintain basal metabolism. For our hypothetical 100-kilogram man, that minimum is about 5,700 kilojoules (1,300 calories) per day. By combining daily aerobic exercise with a weight-loss diet, he would be able to lose 10 kilograms in half the time (70 days). Of course, the described regime is more rigorous than would be desirable or advisable for many persons. Therefore, under an effective but more manageable weight-loss program, losing 10 kilograms (about 20 pounds) may take as long as 6 months.

There are also some easy ways for people to exercise, such as walking rather than driving, climbing stairs instead of taking elevators, doing more housework with fewer power tools, or parking their cars farther and walking to school or the office.

Types of Diets

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There are several kinds of diets:

Weight-loss diets restrict the intake of specific foods, or food in general, to reduce body weight. What works to reduce body weight for one person will not necessarily work for another, due to metabolic differences and lifestyle factors. Also, it's important to note that short-term dieting does not necessarily lead to weight loss in the long term. Reducing the body's food supply causes it to stockpile excess fat as a starvation response once normal eating is resumed - meaning crash dieting leads to small short-term weight loss, then an increase in weight shortly afterwards.

Many professional athletes impose weight-gain diets on themselves. For example, wrestlers may overeat in order to achieve a higher weight class. American football players may try to "bulk up" through weight-gain diets in order to gain an advantage on the field with a higher mass.

Medical conditions often require the following of special diets. Each of these diets will specifically include or exclude or regulate certain chemicals (and the foods that contain them). For example, a person who has diabetes is often on a diet designed to carefully manage his or her blood sugar level. Epileptics are often put on the Ketogenic Diet. Sufferers of celiac disease must follow a gluten-free diet, the lactose-intolerant are advised to omit milk products, and people with kidney disease must follow a strict low-sodium diet to ease the strain on their kidneys. Treatment of mild hypertension includes adhering to a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat and sodium. This diet may be tailored to focus on weight loss if that is necessary to control blood pressure. Some people show allergic reactions to different types of food. They may include but are not limited to wheat flour, nuts, various types of fruit, egg white etc. These foods are to be avoided in such cases. A special diet may be necessary to prevent health problems.

Dieting

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Dieting is the practice of eating (and drinking) in a regulated fashion to achieve a particular, short-term objective. This is distinct from the more basic concept of "diet," which addresses the longer-term and more generic habit of nutritional consumption. For example, a vegan eats a diet completely without animal products, including milk; while this is a diet, it is not "dieting."

The most common objective of dieting is loss of excess body fat. Some dieting is prescribed to achieve particular medical objectives, such as sodium-free diets, bland diets and soft food diets, while some dieting is actually designed to increase body fat and/or muscle weight gain.

Toxins

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Virtually all food contains an appreciable level of toxicity, which does not pose a substantial threat to a robust individual, either because of low concentration, or because the individual can readily eliminate it. See excretion. At increasingly high toxin concentrations, otherwise-edible material can no longer be called "food". See poison, contamination.

Food additives

Some people claim that food additives, such as artificial sweeteners, colorants, preserving agents, and flavourants may cause health problems even though they were extensively tested before being allowed into the market. For example, artificial colorants are claimed to cause hyperactivity in susceptible children. As another example, people on calorie restricted diets often choose to buy products advertised as "reduced calorie" or "no sugar added". These products contain artificial sweeteners. These are safe to consume in small quantities, and are of low toxicity. Safety studies may well show some advantage in substitutions, product by product. Over a period of time, many different products are approved for sale, each one relying on a study done in isolation, and each one suggesting the artificially sweetened product has fewer associated health problems than equivalent all-natural products. When dieters buy reduced-calorie soft drinks, biscuits, cakes, flavoured water, yogurt, and so on, all may contain combinations of the leading artificial sweeteners aspartame, acesulfame potassium or sucralose. Cumulative doses are at higher levels than those on which the safety studies were based.

The issue of sweetening is just one example. Other taste-enhancing additives (e.g. salt substitutes) or flavourants are also hidden in processed foods and drink, as are colourants. Mandatory food labelling is one attempt to overcome the problem. This invites the consumer to check the ingredients of their foods before consumption. However, the average person has no training in organic chemistry and its nutritional effects. Neither is it practical for individuals to manage score cards recording all the nutrients they consume.

Some would assert that research into the toxicity of many varied artificial ingredients has been inconclusive. The USA's Food and Drug Administration has very stringent requirements for the introduction of new food ingredients, and this includes rigorous testing on animals, where the animals are given exorbitant amounts of these chemicals - far more than humans ever would be likely to consume.

Studies often attempt to determine whether an artificially-produced food additive is potentially carcinogenic, conduicive to heart disease, or possessing of other malicious properties.

A good rule of thumb to remember when reading the results of these studies is that the more widespead a food additive is in existing packaged food, the more likely the studies will conclude said additive to be benign.

Benefits of Eating Routines for Young Children

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Children thrive on routines and love to know what and when something is expected of them. Even though every child and family is different, it is important to recognize the benefits consistent routines provide for children. Daily routines help children learn a sense of independence, stability and value.

Eating

Set times for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with healthy snacks throughout the day to make meal times more relaxed. Most children are happier on a schedule and will become hungry at regular times.

Tips for helping make mealtime a positive experience for children:

Allow your child to eat at his/her own pace.

Mealtimes are opportunities for children to learn independence by making choices about food.

Encourage your child to taste everything, but do not force him/her to eat. Because children are picky eaters by nature, it may be necessary to present them with a new food several times before they actually eat it on their own.

Serve a variety of healthy foods (perhaps different foods on different days) so your child can get all the essential nutrients even if he/she doesn't eat some of the foods.

If you don't have junk food in the house or don't put it on the table, your child will get hungry and eat the healthy food.

According to JR Harris in her book "The Nurture Assumption", the best way to encourage a child to eat a food is to serve it when other children who like it are present so your child can see the other children enjoying it; seeing an adult enjoy the food has little impact.

Eating More or Less of Particular Nutrients

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In terms of nutrients, it is known from several surveys from the MAFF, and from various studies by the NHS, that the foods which people usually eat on average tend to be closer towards fast food, or ready meals, most of which do not provide a balanced meal, and contribute to major nutrient deficiencies.

From this, people should be able, from governmental guidelines, to decide what amounts of nutrients they have in their diets and increase or decline intakes accordingly. However, people don't eat foods and not nutrients, and few people know which foods stock which nutrients, so allowing people to self-regulate their diets means that they run the obvious risk of deficiency.

However, even with pamphlets and other media, the values of which nutrients come from which foods, and the effect of foods on a diet is a difficult decision. For instance, milk, cheese, and other dairy products are known to have a relatively high fat content, and it would be thought that those things with high fat content should be removed from a healthy diet. However, when looking at the food, the more important factor is whether the food has an overall good effect on the diet. For instance, removing such dairy products from a healthy diet may lower fat intake, but will also have implication on the intakes of calcium and riboflavin that such foods possess.
Fears of high cholesterol were frequently voiced up until the mid-1990s. However, more recent research has shown that the distinction between high- and low-density lipoprotein ('good' and 'bad' cholesterol, respectively) must be addressed when speaking of the potential ill effects of cholesterol. Low density lipoprotein is often prevalent in animal products, such as bacon and egg yolks, whereas high density lipoprotein is more common in plant and fish tissues, such as olive oil and salmon.

Due to the difficulties of educating people about nutrient intake in the past, governments have opted to move towards instructions for what foods to eat rather than what nutrients to ingest.

Regulation of Intake

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The regulation of food and nutrients means decreasing or increasing the amount of nutrients or calories within the diet. Most of the responses to foods within a diet come from people's innate belief that there are 'good' and 'bad' foods. It is from that belief that people most often develop bad diets, because they believe that eating foods which they consider healthy in abundance will create a healthy diet. However, this could not be further from the truth.

From this response, an individual must learn that there are no bad foods, and learn to follow the guidelines their state sets for a healthy diet. These usually range slightly from country to country based on demographics, but usually the same guidelines of eating less fried or fatty foods to reduce cholesterol, and even replacing certain foods with healthier alternative, "healthy" indicating foods which contain both the same or more energy as the original food, but have an abundance of nutrients, for instance: foods such as legumes or beans, within a salad or pasta.

The ingredient usually cited as being most crucial to good health, water, has even been known to result in death when consumed in extraordinary quantities. Deaths from excessive water drinking have generally occurred in persons who are or who have recently been under the influence of hard drugs; for example, MDMA (ecstasy); and in non-elite athletes, according to a 2005 paper in the New England Journal of Medicine over-hydration resulting in "Hyponatremia has emerged as an important cause of race-related death and life-threatening illness among marathon runners".

How Much to Eat

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As BMI and weight changes from person to person, the general RNI set by governmental institutions may be somewhat lacking for some people, despite the fact that the RNI is generally calculated as higher than the average nutrient intake. It is even thought that some people may have needs above that of the RNI, meaning even if a person achieved nutrient intake, they would still not be fulfilling the RNI. The only real way to know the RNI for a person is to implicitly monitor the intake of nutrients and amount of exercise.

It is known that the experiences we have in childhood relating to consumption of food affect our perspective on food consumption in later life. From this, we are able to determine ourselves our limits of how much we will eat, as well as foods we will not eat - which can develop into eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa. This is also true with how we perceive the sizes of the meals or amounts of food we consume daily; people have different interpretations of small and large meals based on upbringing, but "replica foods" (which represent the average serving size) can establish the difference in portion size for the individual.

Foods

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There are no foods which are intrinsically linked on a singular-consumption basis to illness, disease or decline of body function. Yet, there are foods, such as fugu, which when improperly
cut or prepared can result in death. In essence, "there are no bad foods".

Nevertheless, there are foods which have low nutritional value, and if consumed on a regular basis will contribute to the decline of human health. This has been demonstrated in the documentary film, Supersize Me, as well as by various epidemilogical studies which have determined that foods such as processed and fast foods, are linked to diabetes and various heart problems.

The popular perception of achieving a healthy diet through the eating of "healthy" foods may be misunderstood. Indeed, ideas of what counts as "healthy" have varied in different times and places, according to scientific advances in the field of nutrition, cultural fashions, religious proscriptions, or personal considerations. The consumption of nothing but substances which are deemed healthy, such as an "all-grain diet" or a diet consisting only of pasta or other health-foods, would most likely result in nutritional deficiencies because important staples of the meal were missing, like protein-based foods. Foods such as grains, fish, corn, etc. are healthy when consumed with a balanced diet, because they supply us with the correct balance of required nutrients. With any diet, the most important aspect is maintaining a healthy intake and balance of foods.

Foods which are considered to be rich in one or more nutrients are seen to be healthy because they are nutrient rich, and if eaten sensibly, will easily regenerate nutrients used naturally throughout the day. But, eating one or more foods which are considered healthy does not mean that a diet that was lacking will immediately be made healthy. The balance of micronutrients gained from both meat, vegetables, and other foods is the feature which makes diets healthy, not only "healthy" foods.

From a psychological perspective, a new healthy diet may be difficult to achieve for a person used to eating "bad foods". This may be due to habits acquired in early adolescence and preferences for fatty foods. It may be easier for such a person to transition to a healthy diet if treats such as chocolate are allowed; sweets may act as mood stabilisers, which could help achieve reinforce correct nutrient intake.

Some foods within a diet provide a source of many nutrients in varying amounts, while others provide nutrients in large amounts as a singularity; still others have very low nutrient ratings, such as fried, deep-fried and fast foods which are high in calories, but low in nutrients; e.g a "USA" Big-Mac contains 560 calories, and has over 17% fat, way above the remit of 15% containing sugar, salt and fat.

Healthy Diet

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A healthy diet contains a balance of food groups and all the nutrients necessary to promote good health. Human nutrition is enormously complex and a healthy diet may vary widely according to an individual's genetic makeup, environment, and health.

Healthy eating is the practice of making choices about what and/or how much one eats with the intention of improving or maintaining good health. Typically, this means following recommendations for a healthy diet.

The concept of healthy eating is primarily a problem in rich countries where the lifestyle includes a modicum of outdoor physical activities, high but not always high-quality food consumption, and a trend towards industrially-produced foods instead of locally-sourced, locally-prepared meals. The article below discusses the recommendations for most citizens of such countries, written from an admittedly developed world point of view. Unfortunately, the main food problems for most of the people in the planet are lack there of or malnutrition.

A reliance on a single food which composes the majority of a diet is a poor eating habit. An individual on such a diet may be prone to deficiency, and most certainly will not be fulfilling the Recommended Nutrient Intake of every nutrient.

While plants, vegetables and fruits are known to help reduce the incidence of chronic disease, the benefits on health posed by plant-based foods, as well as the percentage of which a diet needs to be plant based in order to have health benefits is unknown. Nevertheless, plant-based food diets in society and between nutritionist circles are linked to health and longevity, as well as contributing to lowering cholesterol, weight loss, and in some cases, stress reduction.

Although a number of preconceptions of a healthy diet center around plant based foods, the majority of assumptions about foods which are usually thought of as "bad" foods are usually correct. Apart from the assumption that there are "bad" foods, many people associate dishes such as Full English cooked Breakfast and Bacon Sandwiches as foods which, if eaten regularly, can contribute to cholesterol, fat and heart problems.

Wellness

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Wellness may mean:

Wellness (alternative medicine) -Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. This article discusses wellness from an alternative medicine perspective where wellness means being much more than just disease free.

Wellness (medicine) - Here, wellness refers generally to the state of being healthy. The aspects of wellness that fit firmly in the realm of medicine are discussed in this article.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

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Body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet Index is a statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing "social physics".

The BMI has become controversial because many people, including physicians, have come to rely on it for medical diagnosis - but that has never been the BMI's purpose. It is meant to be used as a simple means of classifying sedentary (physically inactive) individuals with an average body composition. For these individuals, the current value settings are as follows: a BMI of 18.5 to 25 may indicate optimal weight; a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight; a BMI below 15 may indicate the person has an eating disorder; a number above 30 suggests the person is obese (over 40, morbidly obese).

In physiology the term “weight” is used interchangeably with “mass”. For a given body shape and given density, the BMI will be proportional to height e.g. if all body dimensions increase by 50%, the BMI increases by 50%.

Generally, a BMI chart displays calculated BMI as a function of weight (horizontal axis) and height (vertical axis) using “contour lines” for different values of BMI or colors for different BMI categories.

Mental Health

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Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individual's emotional and psychological well-being. Merriam-Webster defines mental health as "A state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no one "official" definition of mental health. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how "mental health" is defined. In general, most experts agree that "mental health" and "mental illness" are not opposites. In other words, the absence of a recognized mental disorder is not necessarily an indicator of mental health.

One way to think about mental health is by looking at how effectively and successfully a person functions. Feeling capable and competent; being able to handle normal levels of stress, maintain satisfying relationships, and lead an independent life; and being able to "bounce back," or recover from difficult situations, are all signs of mental health.

Nutrition

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Nutrition is a science which studies the relationship between diet and states of health and disease. Dieticians are Health professionals who are specialized in this area of expertise. They are also the only highly trained health professionals able to provide safe, evidence-based and accurate dietary advice and interventions.

Between the extremes of optimal health and death from starvation or malnutrition, there is an array of disease states that can be caused or alleviated by changes in diet. Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diet can produce negative impacts on health, which may lead to diseases such as scurvy, obesity or osteoporosis, as well as psychological and behavioral problems. Moreover, excessive ingestion of elements that have no apparent role in health, (e.g. lead, mercury, PCBs, dioxins), may incur toxic and potentially lethal effects, depending on the dose. The science of nutrition attempts to understand how and why specific dietary aspects influence health.

Physical Exercise

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Physical exercise is the performance of some activity in order to develop or maintain physical fitness and overall health. It is often directed toward also honing athletic ability or skill. Frequent and regular physical exercise is an important component in the prevention of some of the diseases of affluence such as cancer, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body:

Flexibility exercises such as stretching improve the range of motion of muscles and joints.

Aerobic exercises such as walking and running focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance.

Anaerobic exercises such as weight training or sprinting increase short-term muscle strength.

Physical exercise is considered important for maintaining physical fitness including healthy weight; building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and joints; promoting physiological well-being; reducing surgical risks; and strengthening the immune system.

Proper nutrition is at least as important to health as exercise. When exercising it becomes even more important to have good diet to ensure the body has the correct ratio of macronutrients whilst providing ample micronutrients, this is to aid the body with the recovery process following strenuous exercise. When the body falls short of proper nutrition, it gets into starvation mode developed through evolution and depends onto fat content for survival. Research suggest that the production of thyroid hormones can be negatively affected by repeated bouts of dieting and calorie restriction.

Proper rest and recovery is also as important to health as exercise, otherwise the body exists in a permanently injured state and will not improve or adapt adequately to the exercise.
The above two factors can be compromised by psychological compulsions (eating disorders such as exercise bulimia, anorexia, and other bulimias), misinformation, a lack of organization, or a lack of motivation. These all lead to a decreased state of health.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness can occur after any kind of exercise, particularly if the body is in an unconditioned state relative to that exercise.

Health

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Health is the functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an organism, at any moment in time, at both the cellular and global levels. All individual organisms, from the simplest to the most complex, vary between optimum health and zero health (dead).

In the medical field, health is commonly defined as an organism's ability to efficiently respond to challenges (stressors) and effectively restore and sustain a "state of balance," known as homeostasis.

Another widely accepted definition of health is that of the World Health Organization "WHO". It states that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". In more recent years, this statement has been modified to include the ability to lead a "socially and economically productive life." The WHO definition is not without criticism, as some argue that health cannot be defined as a state at all, but must be seen as a process of continuous adjustment to the changing demands of living and of the changing meanings we give to life. The WHO definition is therefore considered by many as an idealistic goal rather than a realistic proposition.

The LaLonde report suggested that there are four general determinants of health which he called "human biology", "environment", "lifestyle", and "healthcare organization". Thus, health is maintained through the science and practice of medicine, but can also be improved by individual effort. Physical fitness, weight loss, a healthy diet, stress management training and stopping smoking and other substance abuse are examples of steps to improve one's health. Workplace programs are recognized by an increasingly large number of companies for their value in improving health and well-being of their employees, and increasing morale, loyalty and productivity at work. A company may provide a gym with exercise equipment, start smoking cessation programs, provide nutrition, weight or stress management training. Other programs may include health risk assessments, health screenings and body mass index monitoring.
An increasing measure of the health of populations is height, which is strongly regulated by nutrition and health care, among other standard of living and quality of life matters. The study of human growth, its regulators and its implications is known as auxology.

Wellness is a term sometimes used to describe the psychological state of being healthy, but is most often used in the field of alternative medicine to describe one's state of being.