Health Sciences and Medicine - Assignment Example

Week Four Questions Week Four Questions Weighing yourself on the scale gives you only limited information about your health. Explain why. How might you obtain more complete and accurate information? Using a scale to weigh oneself gives limited health information because weight alone is not a sure indication of good or poor health. To know if someone is healthy, it is advisable to compute the Body Mass Index (BMI) as well as other indicators in an effort to find out if it is the right one for a given weight.

The scale should only be used as one of the indictors of overall health. This is because individuals who happen to be slightly overweight may turn out to be healthy while thin people may be facing health problems. The weight of a person fluctuates even on a daily basis. This follows the fact that the weight of a person may vary by several pounds as a result of water retention as well as other factors. It is advisable for people to weigh themselves at a specific time during the day, or else the scale will be indicating fluctuating numbers, which may end up being extremely frustrating.

In addition, when the scale shows numbers going down too fast, this may not be a true indication of a lasting weight loss. It is also good to remember that a healthy weight will vary from one person to the other; for an individual to settle for what he or she believes is a healthy weight, it has to be a number that is realistic and healthy. This can be easily achieved by checking up on BMI tables and weight charts for one’s height to receive guidelines of a healthy weight (Matricardi & McLarty, 2007).

However, such charts are still just indicators. The weight of an individual should be one that is comfortable in relation to the type of body, habits and age. For an optimum emotional and physical health, weight should be realistic when it comes to maintaining it. It is thus advisable to include other forms of “check-ins” in addition to the scale. The scale should serve as one of indicators of the individual’s health as there are still many other indicators including fitness level, BMI, looks, feelings, muscle tone, how clothes fit, and body fat composition (Matricardi & McLarty, 2007) What strategies outlined in the Week Four NGS video, “The Science of Stress,” might you incorporate for a more healthful lifestyle?

How might you use additional information you have learned so far to live a more healthful lifestyle? What changes might you make to your current patterns? Some of the strategies include considering stress as a motivator, thus making it perform useful functions in one’s healthy lifestyle. If positively enhanced, according to the NGS video, stress can influence me to exceed or meet an identified health goal such as keeping fit or cutting down on my weight (Freidman & Keane, 2010). Such health goals need a lot of investment and energy and thus in such a situation stress will serve as one of my motivators.

Another strategy is to avoid anticipating stress, that is, whether or not it occurs or merited, as prolonged psychological stress can lead to health complications such as heart diseases, ulcers, brain damage, and diabetes (Freidman & Keane, 2010). One of the things I have learned from the video is the chromosomes tips in relation to how chronic stress impacts individual telomeres. Scientists strongly advise that individual telomeres should be put as healthier as possible. This will make it easier for the cells when it comes to the process of replenishing and dividing every part of the body.

When one is stressed psychologically, the stress response of the body is normally activated. The stem cells supply respond to this by dividing and rushing to fix this problem. Whenever the cells divide, the telomeres shorten. This implies that chronic stress destroys telomeres as shortening makes it almost impossible for the production of stem cells (Freidman & Keane, 2010). Eventually the cells cease to function, and this leads to faster aging. The information I received from the video has helped me adjust my current lifestyle; for example, now I am motivated every time I am subjected to stress; I now totally avoid anticipating stress no matter the situation I am in; and if I happen to get stress, I try to take control of my situation, as the longer I am stressed the more my health worsens.

What are some guidelines for evaluating the safety and efficacy of a new fitness plan? Explain your reasoning for choosing these guidelines. What are the three most important facts you have learned about your current nutritional choices in relation to weight management and fitness levels   Before deciding to follow a new fitness plan, one has to evaluate the safety of the plan. Keeping fit is all about weight management, so it involves the balance between physical activity and calories. The desired outcomes for different fitness plans are normally different, but still the tactics employed in losing or maintaining weight are seen to be virtually the same.

They all involve exercise and diet (Talbott, 2004). Thus the first step before starting to follow a new fitness plan involving either exercise or diet regime is to consult your doctor. Some of the guidelines are: i. Food variety; a diet that is safe has to be balanced, so one should not be restricted to a certain group of food. The desirable nutrients usually obtained from each food group and the health of an individual cannot be fully sustained by a single food group. Restrictive diets are mostly unbalanced as they normally lack variety, contain too few calories and result in mineral and vitamin deficiencies.

Therefore, any new fitness plan has to be the one that recommends different food groups. ii. The plan should have reasonable goals; one should look for fitness plans which emphasize steady and slow weight loss. A recommended rate should be equal to or less than 2 pounds loss every week (Talbott, 2004). A faster loss of weight may sacrifice lean muscle, which is responsible for muscle tone. iii. Exercise should be in conjunction with food intake. For one to be fit, the body has to be in a position to burn as much calories as it consumes.

Therefore, a new fitness plan should set aside at least 30 minutes for physical activity on a daily basis (Talbott, 2004) My fitness level and weight management are majorly affected by the type of food I eat. My diet now includes more nutritious food from different food groups and less junk food. To have the right amount of calories in my body, I now have to balance my diet every time I am taking a meal. In addition, I incorporate more legumes, vegetables, fruits, and wholegrain products in my meals to keep my intake of calories as low as possible and at the same time gain enough vitamins and minerals (Talbott, 2004).

References Freidman, M., & Keane, T. (2010). Handbook of PTSD: Science and practice. New York: The Guilford Press Matricardi, J., & McLarty, J. (2007). Health, safety and nutrition activities A to Z. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Talbott, S. (2004). The cortisol connection diet: The breakthrough program to control stress and lose weight. New York: Hunter House