PERSONALIZED NUTRITION AND EXERCISE PLAN

Personalized Nutrition and Exercise Plan

Personalized Nutrition and Exercise Plan

Introduction

In this paper I will discuss my personalized nutrition and exercise plan in a concise way. This nutrition and fitness assignment will give the audience a brief explanation of obesity, I will define it and explain its cause, and some of the associated health risks associated with obesity (Dudek, 1999). I also will speak about my current fitness and nutritional habits and will describe three new fitness habits I could implement to improve my health. Along, I shall identify three new nutritional habits I should and partially have already incorporated into my lifestyle as they could promote a healthy weight and benefit my overall general health.

Personalized Nutrition and Exercise Plan

Obesity is loosely defined as weight above the 95th percentile for age, or BMI >85th percentile. It develops when calorie intake exceeds energy expenditure. The cause of obesity may be multi-factorial and difficult to determine; Foremost, ethnicity factors may influence the age of onset and the rapidity of weight gain. African American women and Hispanic women tend to experience weight gain earlier in life than Caucasians and Asians (Medicine). The health problems associated with obesity are numerous. Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem, it is a health hazard (Dudek, 1999). The cause of obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions including heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, Diabetes, Cancer, Gallbladder and Gallstones, Osteoarthritis, Gout, breathing problems - such as sleep apnea, and Asthma.

Although my focus on my personal nutrition is not all that bad, it could use an overhaul. Knowing that an optimal diet supplies the required nutrients needed for adequate tissue maintenance, repair, and growth without excess energy intake, I realized that a closer look at the issue in combination with my current fitness. Prior to this class, I have rarely observed any food labels, and I know they are designed to help me and the consumer to make healthier choices (Dudek, 1999).

I have never paid attention to them because neither I, nor my family is overweight. But looking at the food guide pyramid, I should be scolded because the food guide pyramid is designed to help me pick food for the right nutrition. The food groups along with the recommended servings on the food pyramid are bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group, (6-11 servings), the fruit group( 2-4), vegetable group (3-5), milk yogurt and cheese group (2-3), meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group (2-3) and lastly, the fats, oils and sweets group which one should rarely ever have, surely do not meet these guidelines. I rarely buy canned goods as we prefer frozen vegetables, and again I have I never paid attention to the nutritional values on frozen items although the information designed by the government is to educate me (Monahan, 1999).

A healthier diet reduces serious health risks such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which I don't have, but should aim for ...