sport Essays - Health, Personal Life, Food And Drink, Nutrition

I cannot say I identify with my family on any health issue. We aren?t terribly susceptible to any one disease, and health habits vary with each person. Age, however, does affect my attitude to health. Young adults are still subject to peer pressure, are free to make their own choices, and are healthy enough to disregard healthy habits. The topic of healthy eating arises because it is a major part of health that young adults do not have the right to ignore. If young people don?t regularly examine themselves for signs of cancer, it?s because cancer is statistically rare for their age group. If they don?t frequently check their cholesterol levels, it?s because they know from previous checkups that high cholesterol levels are unlikely in their young age. But if they don?t manage their diets well, there is no good reason. Eating healthy foods, eating a proper amount of food, and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol are just as important now as ever, but we do not acknowledge this in our lifestyles. Young adults need to know that their diets now will affect their health later, and they need to provide themselves with healthy eating. As a young adult I see several reasons why healthy eating is not an apparently important topic. Personal responsibility is a new concept at this point in life; if we are used to snacking on junk food and eating healthy meals when they are served, we are not automatically trained to make healthy meals ourselves. With lives full of school and work, it is easy to prioritize economic needs over health. To make matters worse, we feel healthy and energetic, so health and healthy eating never beg for our attention. Compared to the elderly, who take the time to eat vitamins, buy healthy food, and meet regularly with a doctor, the young can seem quite reckless and irresponsible. Another reason for a lack of emphasis on proper eating is peer pressure, whether this promotes donuts, energy drinks, or alcohol. Although I don?t experience this problem personally, I see how dangerous it can be when we have more school friends than work acquaintances. Alcohol can be very tempting when we reach the legal age, because it is to some a symbol of independence. Peer pressure can bring the young adult culture together in a negative way. If we take cues from our fellow students, they imply that fast food and other unhealthy products are acceptable. To worsen the problem is the media, although it may not directly target young adults more than any other age group. Movies reinforce stereotypical images of young adults focused on anything but healthy eating, and advertisements promote junk food, fast food, and caffeine. Mostly, this negligence affects me, too. Eating can be equated with the search for any form of pre-packaged and processed food, and I have not considered any nutritional value, or considered taking vitamin supplements. I realize healthy diets need to be addressed, and will attempt this in the near future, although feeling somewhat victimized by unhealthy eating may hinder my efforts. Part of the problem is that procrastination is so easy. From this disregard for health comes statistical evidence, showing that we do not consider our health or diet enough. Writer Lorraine Heller reveals from one poll, ?75 percent of respondents aged over 55 considered themselves to be healthy eaters, compared to 47 percent of those aged 18 to 34.? That means that out of every four people, one of them will become a healthy eater around his forties. You don?t have to be forty to realize healthy eating will improve your lifespan, yet younger adults put the issue aside for as long as possible. An article entitled ?Smoking, obesity, poor eating highest among young adults? reveals from another survey taken in 2000, ?More than one-third of white men and women ages 18 to 24 smoked, the highest rate among all the groups covered.? A general explanation assumes everyone who wants to smoke starts when they turn eighteen, and then some quit later, but should this be taken for granted? Even when a person at the age of ten decides he will become a smoker, he is not destined to start smoking as soon as