Introduction
Health and wellness are important parts of our lives. This assignment is important because it gives insight into how to make personal decisions about health, physical wellness, and fitness. This study is vital in giving information that will guide me and other people in understanding health and wellness and how they interact to influence our overall well-being (Corbin et al 2010, p. 1).
This report will cover the following areas: health and wellness, self-planning for healthy lifestyles, preparing for physical activity, stress management, cancer, diabetes, conclusion, and the reference from which all this information was obtained.
Health and Wellness
Health can be described as the condition whereby I do not have any ailment in my body. Wellness on the other hand is the description of the component of life that allows me to live a happy and productive life. Health-wellness, therefore, is the absence of ailments and the ability to have a happy and meaningful, and productive life (Corbin et al 2010, p. 5).
Physical fitness, on the other hand, describes my ability to perform physical tasks efficiently. Dimensions of physical fitness include strength, flexibility, endurance, cardiovascular fitness, agility, reaction time, power, speed, coordination, and body composition (Corbin et al 2010, p. 7).
HELP is an acronym used to describe a philosophy that encourages people to change their lifestyles to live healthy lifestyles. In the acronym, ‘health’ stands for the fact that, in most cases, people change their lifestyles for better health if they have a reason or believe that it is beneficial to them.‘Everyone’s acronym reminds us that good health and wellness are for everybody. Physical fitness is not restricted to sportsmen but is and can be applied by anyone to help them lead a healthy life. ‘Lifetime’in the acronym means that healthy living can be practiced at any age; in fact the longer it is practiced, the better because it then gives long-term benefits (Corbin et al 2010). ‘Personal’ stands for the fact that it is a personal decision for me to decide to live a healthy (Corbin et al 2010, p. 2).
Self-Planning for Healthy Lifestyles
- Step 1: Clarifying the reasons: This stage is vital because it is at this stage that I decide to turn around and make changes in my life. Usually, this is triggered by some push which may be a recommendation from a doctor, a personal urge to improve my appearance, a need to feel better about myself, or even the need to achieve better performance of activities in competition for example athletes in competition (Corbin et al 2010, p. 29).
- Step 2: Identifying needs: This step helps me make a summary of what I have been doing thus far, what I intend to do, and why I need to achieve my desired goal. In the end, I can identify and adopt behavior changes that address my needs. As I change and make this effort, it helps me establish why I want to make the changes in the first place (Corbin et al 2010, p. 29).
- Step 3: Setting personal goals: This is where I set the specific goals that I want to achieve by making a change in my life. The goals can be divided into several categories like general goals, SMART goals, behavioral and outcome goals. As with many goals in life and business, I am advised to make specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and time-bound goals (Corbin et al 2010, p. 30).
- Step 4: Selecting program components: In this step, I choose the programs and schedules that are specific to what I want to achieve. I am advised to choose a schedule that fits into my abilities and build in helping me grow towards the achievement of my goals. These programs could include anything from a training schedule to a decision to take classes to help me in my training schedule (Corbin et al 2010, p. 32).
- Step 5: Writing my plan: In this step, I put into writing what I envision and intend to do. As with many other disciplines, this plan is used as a constant reminder of what needs to be done, when and at what time; this, therefore, helps me to discipline follow my strategy and program. The more specific the plan, the better I can keep track of and control my program (Corbin et al 2010, p. 33).
- Step 6: Evaluating Progress: In this step, I use tools to evaluate what I have achieved for far. Self-evaluation is particularly important for behavioral goals as these ultimately help me achieve the longer-term goals. I am advised to keep written logs for more effective self-evaluation of goals and activities (Corbin et al 2010, p. 33).
Preparing for Physical Activity
The body needs to be prepared and ready for fitness activities before introduction to the physical activity; it is recommended that I check myself for readiness by filling out the physical activity readiness questionnaire or visiting a clinic for examination. Upon examination and clearance to proceed, I carefully select the appropriate attire for the intended exercise (Corbin et al 2010, p. 45).
A general warm-up then follows to warm the body and prepare the heart and blood vessels for exercise. I do this for about five to ten minutes and then do a stretch-up exercise to minimize the risk of muscle injury. The workout phase then follows and is the physical working of the body to achieve the desired results (Corbin et al 2010, p. 46).
After the rigorous workout, I follow it up with a cool down to bring my body back to relaxation. Like the warm-up, the cool down session takes 5-10 minutes and is done by performing mild exercises and cooling the body down (Corbin et al 2010, p. 48).
Stress Management
Physical activity plays a vital role in health-wellness. Physical activity according to Corbin et al. (2012) can therefore help me adapt to stressful situations. Studies also indicate that physical exercise can help in the reduction of anxiety and depression. These activities have also been shown to help in health behavioral change such as aiding women to stop habits such as smoking and reducing aging induced by stress (Corbin et al 2010, p. 384).
Good management of time can help reduce stress as it ensures that every activity is budgeted for and accomplished. I must list and prioritize my ‘to-do list. This will ensure that the most urgent and important items are taken care of first and the less urgent and unimportant ones done after. One other way of managing my time is writing down what needs to be done, being clear on my aims for the day, and avoiding procrastination at all costs (Corbin et al 2010, p. 386).
Stress is managed by social support, particularly for women. Women have been reported to turn to and respond to social support. Social support has three main arms that include emotional, informational, and material support. Emotional support comes when someone offers a listening ear while informational social support is a result of information from other individuals on how they dealt with a similar situation (Corbin et al 2010, p. 388).
Cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases that are characterized by the abnormal growth of cells. Colon rectal cancer is second as a killer for men and is more common in African Americans than white Americans. This cancer is screened by fecal Occult blood test (FOBT), fecal immunochemical test, or stool DNA test for men over the age of 50 years every year. Corbin et al. (2012, p. 465). Physical activity and a diet that contains high fiber can reduce the risk of this cancer.
Prostate cancer is another type of cancer in the male population. The mortality rate is highest among the African race. Digital rectum exam (DRE) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test are the common screen tests used to detect this cancer
Testicular cancer is another form of cancer that poses a threat to men. It poses a threat to men of all ages. It is recommended that men over 20 years carry out a monthly self-exam (Corbin et al 2010, p. 469).
Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition where blood sugar is unusually high. Normal blood sugar is normally within 50 -100mg. When the sugar gets to 101-125mg, then it is considered pre-diabetes and diabetes when it gets to over 125mg. In Type I diabetes, there is high blood sugar and the pancreas is challenged in producing insulin. This necessitates the use of insulin therapy. In Type II diabetes, there is high blood sugar but no need for insulin therapy (Corbin et al 2010, p. 471).
People with diabetes generally have a shorter lifespan brought about by diabetes complications. Heart disease and high blood pressure are among the complications associated with diabetes. People with diabetes also have a higher chance of developing kidney problems and diabetic mothers are at risk of pregnancy complications (Corbin et al 2010, p. 471).
Lifestyle change is the most common method of managing diabetes. These changes can be summarized as keeping a healthy amount of fat in the body, regular testing for diabetics, healthy eating by limiting simple carbohydrates and increasing complex carbohydrates and keeping body weight at healthy levels, regular physical exercise, and stress management (Corbin et al 2010, p. 472).
Conclusion
This assignment is important because it gives insight into how to make personal decisions about health, physical wellness, and fitness. This study is vital in giving information that will guide me and other people in understanding health and wellness and how they interact to influence our overall well-being.
Many areas of health and wellness have been covered in this assignment and this has provided a lot of insight into how to live healthy, chronic ailments, how to manage these, and the importance of physical exercise and wellness.
Reference
Corbin, C., Welk, G., Corbin, W., Welk, K. (2010). Concepts of Fitness and Wellness: A Comprehensive Lifestyle Approach. USA: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.