Factors affecting health

Living a healthy lifestyle is extremely important. When your body is healthy, your risk of disease and other health problems will be much lower. This page will cover a few significant factors which can affect your health - diet, exercise and genetically inherited factors.

Unbalanced diet
People who eat a severely unbalanced diet are known to be malnourished. Malnourishment is not the same thing as starvation, which is not eating enough of all nutrients. Malnourished people can be overweight, underweight, or otherwise unhealthy.

Overeating
Too many carbohydrates or fats in your diet can eventually lead to obesity. Obesity is a common health concern in developed countries, and a person is defined as obese if their body mass is at least 20% above their maximum recommended body mass. Hormonal problems can cause obesity, although the most common causes are an unbalanced diet, overeating and not exercising enough.

Many health problems can arise as complications of obesity; these include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and even some types of cancer.

Excessive saturated fat can raise blood cholestrol levels, and too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and heart conditions.

Undereating
Some people suffer from a lack of food, particularly in developing countries. The effects of undereating vary depending on which nutrients are not present in the diet, although common complications include fatigue, a weakened immune system, stunted growth in children, and irregular menstrual cycles in women.

Deficiency diseases are caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals. One example of a deficiency disease is scurvy, which is caused by a lack of vitamin C. Scurvy leads to problems with the skin, gums and joints. Also, a lack of protein can cause a condition known as kwashiorkor; a common symptom of this is a swollen stomach.

Exercise
Exercise is an important factor of a healthy lifestyle; people who exercise on a regular basis are often healthier than those who don't. When you exercise, your body uses up more energy, and stores less energy as fat. Due to this, people who exercise regularly are at a lower risk for health problems such as obesity.

However, it's possible to be fit but not healthy; for example you can be slim and physically fit while malnourished at the same time because your diet is unbalanced.

Inherited factors
Diet and exercise aren't the only things which can affect your health - genetically inherited factors can play a part in your health too.

Some people may inherit factors which have an effect on their metabolic rate. For instance, some inherited factors cause an underactive thyroid gland, which can lower their metabolic rate and lead to obesity.

Others may inherit factors which have an effect on their blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fatty substance which is vital for good health, and it is found in every cell in your body. Some inherited factors can increase blood cholesterol levels and raise the risk of heart disease.

Fortunately, inherited factors which increase your risk of obesity or heart disease don't mean that you can't stay healthy. You can maintain a healthy lifestyle by keeping a close watch on your diet and exercising regularly.