In celebration of World Health Day on April 7th, Health24, sponsored by Fedhealth, recently conducted a comprehensive survey into the health of everyday South Africans. Overall South Africans believe that they are in good health; they also believe that they have a definite understanding of what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Turns out … we don’t!

South Africa is on its way to overtaking America as the world’s fattest nation. Also, South African’s between the ages of 30 and 70 have almost double the risk of dying from non-communicable diseases (i.e. cancer, diabetes, heart disease) as their peers living in the UK. According to Dr Krisela Steyn, Director of the Council for Chronic Diseases of the Lifestyle Research Unit, about 6 million South Africans have hypertension, 5 million have high blood pressure and one and a half million are diagnosed with diabetes. Shocking statistics, right?

Ok, so here’s some more … A survey conducted by pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline in 2010 indicates that 61% of the population is overweight, obese or morbidly obese! Yes, 25% of our teens and 17% of kids younger than 9 years are classed as overweight or obese. 49% of South Africans claim to do no exercise, and 71% have never attempted to cut down on their food intake. Can you believe that only 47% of South Africans believe that exercise and fitness is crucial for good health?!

The consequence of this ignorance opens a Pandora’s Box of fatal diseases. Most of these chronic diseases are preventable, as their primary cause is due to lifestyle choices. So, choose life by committing to a few healthy living tips:

• Cook from scratch. This allows you to have complete control of what goes into your food.
• Eat a balanced diet. Aim to eat a balanced diet that contains each of the food groups in the correct proportions.
• Variety is key. Fill your diet with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, wholegrains, and naturally low fat dairy foods. When it comes to fruit and veg; different colours provide your body with different nutrients – it is not just greens that are good for you!
• Know where your food comes from and how it affects your body.
• Eat nutritious calories. Provide your body with nutrients like vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, and good fats. Avoid empty calories.
• Don’t skip breakfast. Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism and helps you to be alert during the day. Make it wholesome, make it count.
• Read the small print. Always read the packaging. Be aware of sugar, salt, and saturated fat content.
• Up the H2O. Avoid empty calories from fizzy drinks, energy drinks or juices with added sugar.
• Keep active. Even a 20 minute brisk walk will have a positive impact on your physical and mental well-being.
• Get your beauty sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep directly affects our ability to learn, grow, and how we act. While we’re asleep our bodies have that all important time to repair.
• Kick the habit. Even if you light up occasionally, you’re doing irreparable damage to your body.
• Think positive and focus on gratitude. Research shows that a positive attitude builds a healthy immune system and boosts overall health.

As World Health Day comes around it’s the perfect opportunity to make some changes. Healthy living is not a flash-in-the-pan fad; it’s about making easy-to-manage healthy choices in your day-to-day living. So, choose to make today healthier than yesterday and pave the way for healthy living tomorrow.

Source: mg.co.za, theeverygirl.com, www.health24.com, www.heraldlive.co.za, www.mrc.ac.za, www.dontparty.co.za, www.health-e.org.za, africacheck.org, www.webmd.com, www.iol.co.za, www.jamieoliver.com, www.justlanded.com, iabsa.net