IS MALAYSIA REALLY IN BETTER SHAPE TODAY?

With mega gyms mushrooming all over the country and the fitness industry thriving here in Malaysia (which I believe is still very much at it’s infancy), I must say that over the past few years, I have personally noticed an increased INTEREST among the public when it comes to keeping fit. Yes, there are definitely way more gym goers now than before.

Even just last night, while I was having dinner at Finnegan’s at MidValley Megamall, this guy at the table next to me was showing off his fancy new dumbbells to his friends at his table. He was even making a fool of himself in the restaurant trying to simulate a run with his new toys, but hey.. that tells me something besides the fact that he’s had too much to drink - its the fact that he is interested to keep himself fit. It’s a good thing… really… but let’s just take a few steps back and think of the bigger picture today - are we, as a nation, really in better shape today than we were before?

Look around you the next time you’re out in the city - we have access to exercise facilities, gyms, freely available information on health and exercise, healthier eating options at certain places.. but as a nation, has it really brought us any good?

The rapid developments in the areas of science, nutrition, the better understanding of the human body today… has it impacted our lives like it should? Is our nation today in a better state than it was before?

Many of us were taken by surprise with the shockingly true statistics when the New Straits Times ran a frontpage story entitled FAT NATION (yes, thats us - Malaysia) last year on the 29th of September, 2006. The MySon (Malaysian Shape of the Nation survey) revealed that:

- Malaysia has the MOST number of fat people in the Asean region, exceeding that in many developed countries, including Germany and France
- 54% of our adult population are either obese or overweight, up from 24% 10 years ago.
- 48% of our adult males and 62% of our adult females are fat.

The report also went on to reveal the reason which was believed to be the cause of all this - the good life, and the unhealthy lifestyle in Malaysia. Too much fast food, carbonated drinks, and a lack of exercise (for example, today, we prefer lifts/escalators instead of stiarcases).

Honestly, I dont think that living a good life is a decent ‘excuse’ to justify the state some of us are in. It is more of the changing of our lifestyles, which comes along with the good life we’re living today.

Our jobs today are more sedentary in nature than ever. We hire foreign labourers to get the hard physical jobs done. When was the last we picked up the broom and swept, and mopped our floors dry at home? We’ve left it all to the maids we hire from Indonesia. Some even get the maids to wash their cars.. or send it to the automatic car wash.

Now, food.

A simple example of the McDonald’s outlets in the United States having healthier grilled options, and KFC having GRILLED CHICKEN (yes.. they’re not stuck with FRIED chicken only) shows the pathetic immature state of the demand for healthy eating options here in Malaysia. It’s sad, honestly, and you may be amused to know that I sometimes have to resort to squeezing my chicken nuggets between paper towels or wiping off the mayonnaise from the burgers at fast food restaurants here just so that I can have my own version of a healthy menu item.

Then, there is white rice. Now, don’t get me started!! Ridiculously large helpings of white rice is basically our staple food. Many say that rice is ‘fattening’ (by the way, I dislike that term because ANYTHING eaten in excessive amounts lead to weight gain, not just rice!). If it’s not rice, then it’s white bread. In Malaysia, the Malays love the breakfast of white rice cooked in coconut milk - Nasi Lemak (so famous I think it should be called our National Dish!). Nasi Lemak is a real killer when you take into the consideration the sambal (ground chillies paste) which come soaked in a pool of oil. The Chinese love pork, the Malays and Indians (Indians especially!) consume way more rice than they should with oily curries, spread over 3 large meals over the entire day, not inclusive of the snacks in between. The portions/ratios of carbohydrates, proteins and fats have all been distorted. Today, instead of consuming a balanced meal consisting of protein + carbo + fats, alot of times, our plates are filled with carbo, more carbo, fried carbo, steamed carbo.. all topped with a little bit more carbo. I’m sure you get what I mean.

We also take more coffee/tea breaks than we need to, and these breaks are accompanied by curry puffs, doughnuts, and yes, even NASI LEMAK again. I was once at our Ministry of Defence for a 10AM meeting, and their break included oversweetened coffee, fried noodles, and yes.. NASI LEMAK. This is the culture we’ve grown to practice.

Although us Malaysians are more health conscious today than before, and gyms mushrooming all over.. are we seeing the results we rightfully deserve? Or has it just become another fad, another craze to be seen carrying a gym bag at a cool looking gym, or simply the craze of having a gym membership?

Are we really reaping the benefits of the growing fitness industry here or have we just found the biggest and sneakiest excuse to GET FAT? You tell me. How many of us can read the above statistics and proudly say - Hey DM, thats not me..?

As more of us become busy, the more time we spend sitting still at our offices with sedentary jobs, I really wish that progress would mean a progressing healthy lifestyle too.

You know people… I actually started this writeup to comment on the opening of the new True Fitness gym at Petaling Jaya… I even took pictures of gym under construction with my camera phone - but it kinda got skewed to something totally different.

taken from dailymuscle on March 28, 2007

INFECTED DISEASES

Infected disease is also one of the effects of a non-healthy lifestyle. It involves the transmission of virus from one to another.

One of the most interesting methods of extension of infection, showing on what small circumstances infection may depend, is seen in the case of the hookworm disease, which causes such devastation in the Southern States. The organism which produces the disease, the Uncinaria, belongs to the more highly developed parasites, and is a small round worm one-third of an inch long. The worms which inhabit the intestines have a sharp biting mouth by which they fasten themselves to the mucous membrane and devour the blood. The most prominent symptom of the disease is anæmia, or loss of blood, due not only to the direct eating of the parasite, but to bleeding from the small wounds caused by its bite. Large numbers of eggs are produced by the parasite which are passed out with the feces, which becomes the only infectious material. In a city provided with water-closets and a system of sewerage there would be no means of extension of infection. The eggs in the feces in conditions of warmth and moisture develop into small crawling larvæ which can penetrate the skin, producing inflammation of this, known in the region as the ground itch. The larvæ enter the circulation and are carried to the lungs, where they perforate the capillaries and reach the inner surface; from this they pass along the windpipe, and then by way of the gullet and stomach reach their habitat, the small intestine. Unfortunately, the habits and poverty of the people in every way facilitate the extension of the infection. There is no proper disposal of the feces, few of the houses have even a privy attached to them, and the feces are distributed in the vicinity of the houses. This leads to contamination of the soil over wide areas. Most of the inhabitants of the country go barefoot the greater part of the year, and this gives ready means of contact with the larvæ which crawl over the surface of the ground. The disease is necessarily associated with poverty and ignorance, the amount of blood is reduced to a low point, and industry, energy and ambition fall with the blood reduction; the schools are few and inefficient; the children are backward, for no child can learn whose brain cells receive but a small proportion of the necessary oxygen; and a general condition of apathy and hopelessness prevails in the affected communities. The control of the disease depends upon the disinfection of the feces, or at least their disposal in some hygienic method, the wearing of shoes, and the better education of the people, all of which conditions seem almost hopeless of attainment. The infection is also extended by means of the negroes who harbor the parasite, but who have acquired a high degree of immunity to its effects and whose hygienic habits are even worse than those of the whites. The organism was probably imported with the negroes from Africa and is one of the legacies of slavery.

The diseases of animals are in many ways closely linked with those of man. In the case of the larger parasites, such as the tapeworms and the trichina, there is a direct interchange of disease with animals, certain phases of the life cycle of the organisms are passed in man and others in various of the domestic animals. A small inconspicuous tapeworm inhabits the intestine of dogs and seems to produce no ill effects. The eggs are passed from the dog, taken into man, and result in the formation of large cystic tumors which not infrequently cause death. Where the companionship between dog and man is very close, as in Iceland, the cases are numerous.
Most of the diseases in animals caused by bacteria and protozoa are not transmitted to man, but there is a conspicuous exception. Plague is now recognized as essentially an animal disease affecting rats and other small rodents, and from these the disease from time to time makes excursions to the human family with dire results. The greatest epidemics of which we have any knowledge are of plague. In the time of Justinian, 542 B.C., a great epidemic of plague extended over what was then regarded as the inhabited earth. This pandemic lasted for fifty years, the disease disappeared and appeared again in many places and caused frightful destruction of life. Cities were depopulated, the land in many places reverted to a wilderness, and the works of man disappeared. The actual mortality cannot be known, but has been estimated at fifty millions. Plague played a large part in the epidemics of the Middle Ages.

An epidemic started in 1346 and had as great an extension as the Justinian plague, destroying a fourth of the inhabitants of the places attacked; and during the fifteenth and sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the disease repeatedly raised its head, producing smaller and greater epidemics, the best known of which, from the wonderful description of De Foe, is that of London in 1665, and called the Black Death. Little was heard of the disease in the nineteenth century, although its existence in Asia was known. In 1894 it appeared in Hong Kong, extended to Canton, thence to India, Japan, San Francisco, Mexico, and, in fact, few parts of the tropics or temperate regions of the earth have been free from it. Mortality has varied greatly, being greatest in China and in India; in the last the estimate since 1900 is seven million five hundred thousand deaths. The disease is caused by a small bacillus discovered in 1894 which forms no spores and is easily destroyed by sunlight, but in the dark is capable of living with undiminished virulence for an indefinite time. The disease in man appears in two forms, the most common known as bubonic plague, from the great enlargement of the lymph nodes, those of the groin being most frequently affected. The more fatal form is known as pneumonic plague, and in this the lungs are the seat of the disease.

In the old descriptions of the disease it was frequently mentioned that large numbers of dead rats were found when it was prevalent, and the most striking fact of the recent investigations is the demonstration that the infection in man is due to transference of the bacillus from infected rats. There are endemic foci of the disease where it exists in animals, the present epidemic having started from such a focus in Northern China, in which region the Tarabagan, a small fur-bearing animal of the squirrel species, was infected. Rats are easily infected, the close social habits of the animal, the vermin which they harbor, and the habits of devouring their dead fellows favor the extension of infection. The disease extends from the rat to man chiefly by means of the fleas which contain the bacilli, and in cases of pneumonic plague from man to man by means of sputum infection. The disease once established in animals tends to remain, the virus being kept alive by transmission from animal to animal, and the persistence of the infection is favored by mild and chronic cases.

Taken from http://www.entalone.com/article/13205.html

GLOBAL WARMING

This article gives us information about global warming, a phenomenon caused by a non-healthy lifestyle and some ways to help us save our own mother nature.

Global warming is a danger, but it has also brought the biggest opportunity to rectify ourselves and the society for the better. There is lot of pessimism in the air and every time there is a big flood or drought, we hear lot of expert commentary. Merely seeing Global Warming' as a threat will only increase the pessimism. The fear will make us falter.

Global warming may be a big thing, but we can - each one of us - take small steps to make things better. And, here lies the opportunity.

The change should begin at an individual level, for an individual is the most determined and quickest element of the society. So while our governments, NGOs and experts debate without any action, we individuals can make our contributions, the cumulative effect will be great.

A very good way is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Think of it, having more of canned food or bottled beverages not only adds to more garbage, it also affects your health. And not to speak of the tremendous amount of pollution caused by the processes that lead to their production. Why not eat more home cooked food and make your own cup of coffee? If possible, drink less coffee, it burns less fuel and is better for your health.

Try washing your light clothes by hand. Its good exercise and saves electricity. Try walking or cycling if you are going anywhere nearby (another good exercise and saves fuel) and try to use public transport if you are going far (again saves fuel).

We do not have to shun our comforts and lead the life of an ascetic. But, even small changes to our lifestyles will contribute to the cause and directly improve one's health and finances. These two factors (better health and finances) should motivate each one of us to start changing, sooner the better. Remember, this is a great opportunity, not just a philanthropic cause.
The society as a whole should also make the best use of this opportunity. If people use less cans and bottled drinks, they will make less garbage. If they use water judiciously, less waste water need to be treated.

What's there in it for businesses? Plenty, if business are willing to make use of the opportunity. While action against the problem (Global Warming) will cause difficulty to some trades and businesses, new opportunities will open up.

If people start using more bicycles, then car manufactures can invest in the business of making and selling bicycles. Alternatively, they can make their cars run on cleaner fuels (the fluctuating price of oil should serve as another catalyst for this). Energy companies should explore renewable and green sources. This will open up tremendous opportunities for research and manufacturing. As for service sector, banks will save millions as more of their customers happy to receive electronic communication and statements instead of paper documents, and this will also save millions of trees.

Thus, this is an opportunity and the sooner we (individuals, businesses and society) can grab it, we can gain the most of it.

Taken and credited from http://www.helium.com/debates/119482-is-global-warming-a-threat-or-an-opportunity/side_by_side?page=3

assalamualaikum and hi guys. I just found a short message about healthy lifestyle, excerpted from an article. Before this, i often heard about 'phytochemicals' but i can't see what its function really is. I hope I can get more info after this.

A good diet is important for good health. A healthy and varied diet can help to maintain a healthy body weight, enhance general wellbeing and reduce the risk of a number of diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis

Phytochemicals, also known as bioactive substances, are compounds commonly found in plant foods that are not considered to be nutrients but may have beneficial effects on health, helping to protect against a number of diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

What about supplements?
For most healthy people, a varied and balanced diet will provide all the vitamins and minerals the body needs. There are certain times in our lives when we may benefit from taking supplements but remember supplements cannot replace a healthy diet. If you think that your diet is not meeting your nutrient requirements, a multivitamin and mineral supplement may be of benefit. Avoid supplements with high doses of single vitamins or minerals as these may well be unnecessary and should not be taken without seeking medical advice.

taken from www.nutrition.org.uk/.../Healthy%20Eating%20A%20Whole%20Diet%20Approach.doc

Maintaining Healthy Habits

Step One: Choose Your Activity Wisely
The first step in creating a healthy new habit that will be a long-term staple in your lifestyle is to choose an activity that fits well with who you are and how you live. If you don’t, you may find that you’re working against personality and lifestyle factors that are two ingrained to change, and your new healthy habit never quite takes root. When choosing a new practice, keep in mind factors like your strengths, your schedule and lifestyle, and the complexity of the new habit, as well as your current stress level and time available, and find an activity that fits well with all of these variables. For a more in-depth look at these factors, take The Stress Reliever Personality Test, which will assess which stress relievers would work best for your lifestyle and personality, and provide you with a list.

Step Two: Build The New Habit into Your Schedule

If you don’t have a specific plan for sticking with a new habit, it’s all too easy to find that your already-packed schedule won’t allow you the ‘spare time’ necessary to do anything new very often. You’ll be too busy, too tired, or will easily find another excuse to let inertia snuff out your best intentions. That’s why a crucial next step is for you to find a specific time in your schedule that’s allotted just for your new stress management activity.

Whether it’s ‘every morning before my shower’, 'during my lunch break', or ‘weeknights at 8’, you need to have a time that you know is set aside for your chosen activity so that you won’t need to continually find a reason to practice your stress relief program.

Many people find it easiest to do things in the morning before they start their day, or at night before bed. Others find snatches of time during the day.

Step Three: Enlist Support

You’ll find much more success if you have others who are helping you along the way. Not only will they give you support when you need it, but you’ll also have them to answer to if you feel like skipping your new stress management practice, and this will make it harder for you to make excuses and quit. One way to get support that is growing in popularity is to hire a personal coach. However, you can also get support by having a buddy start with you, or joining a class where they practice your chosen activity (like a yoga class, for example, or a meditation class). If you’d rather do it alone, you can always ask a friend to keep you accountable for the first few weeks, or keep a journal where you record your activity and success every day or at the end of each week. Whatever route you choose, it helps to have someone to keep you accountable, at least in the beginning.

Step Four: Using Goals and Rewards

Although the great feelings you get from stress management can be their own reward, in starting any new habit, it helps to also have some more tangible rewards. (Think of how teachers use stars and other tokens to encourage good behavior, or how you can train pets to do just about anything with a few small treats; none of us is above the power of a few good rewards, either.) The trick is to reward yourself for your first few steps until your new healthy habit becomes ingrained into your way of life. (The first month or so is especially important, as that’s the approximate time it takes for a new behavior to become a habit.) The rewards you give yourself are a personal choice, and you probably know what would be the best incentive for your own success, but I recommend something small and enjoyable. For example, when I first started going to the gym, I would reward every five gym visits with a new piece of workout clothing—that way I’d feel like I ‘earned’ the new outfits, and I’d also get the payoff of looking better in the dressing room each time I found myself there. Others I know have given themselves pedometers (to reward regular walking), soothing music (to reward and use with yoga practice) or beautiful new pens (to reward journal writing).

Step Five: Check in With Yourself To be Sure You Are On The Right Track

As you go, pay special attention to how you feel. Does your new practice seem to fit with your lifestyle? Is it easy to maintain your new habit, or do you think you may need to try something new? If you find that you haven’t kept up with your new plans as you’ve hoped, rather than beating yourself up over it, congratulate yourself for noticing that you need a change of plans—it’s the first step in building a new plan that will better serve you! And, if you’re trudging along with it, but have decided that you really may need to try something else instead, at least you know what doesn’t work for you as well, and now you can try something else that you may end up loving. All in all, it’s best to learn several new stress relievers and stress management techniques anyway, to have a few options available for reducing stress in your body and mind.

http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/ss/healthy_habits_5.htm

OVEREATING AS THE MAIN CAUSE OF OBESITY

This article tells us several causes which lead to obesity, and overeating as the main cause of the disease.

When the consumption intake does not match physical expenditure in a single day, obesity begins. The extra fat gained by the negative subtraction of the factors mentioned above allows pockets of fats deposits accumulate within the human body. A man or a woman of such a high-consumption nature falls prey to extra fat, bypassing the normal metabolic conditions of a human being.

The extra energy produces fat which is reserved into tissues. This imbalance in energy conservation leads to overweight over a period of time. Eating disorders, unscheduled timing of meals and a wide time gap between eating all increase the chance of being an obese.

Other reason for getting weight is some genetic disorders, carried by generations lead to overweight. In these cases, people are helpless as they are biologically destined to have super weight.

Besides that, gender plays an important part to play in causing obesity. On an average, a man has more muscles than a woman. Since muscles consume more calories than other forms of tissues, a man uses more calories than a woman, even he is not doing anything. It proves that women are more vulnerable to obesity than men with same food intake.

Age is also a vital factor. Older people lose more muscles and thereby they tend to get fatter than the youth. Elderly people thus become obese more than the young generation.

During pregnancy, women get extra weight. This weight gain may lead to obesity. This can compound with each pregnancy.

taken and credited from http://obesity-therapy.most-effective-solution.com/effects-on-health/

How to maintain a healthy lifestyle

With the demanding schedules students have these days it can be particularly hard to find a balance between school, work and leading a healthy lifestyle.Having a healthy lifestyle leads to the prevention of diseases as well as keeping students in top physical and mental shape. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the easiest thing to do, provided you know the right tricks. Excess stress jolts your mind and you will see its spill-over effect in every aspect of your life. The key to counter daily pressures and stress is to lead a healthy life and develop healthy habits. You will find your productivity visibly enhanced and your mental framework quite positive, if you follow a healthy way of life

Keep a balanced diet

According to www.americanheart.org, having good eating habits can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, and exercising on a regular basis is not only good for keeping off those unwanted pounds, but is also good for your heart and brain.There are many good ways to lead a healthy lifestyle. The three hardest and most important ways are through a balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting the recommended eight hours of sleep.

According to www.webmd.com, a healthy diet consists of foods high in lean protein, such as fish, chicken, eggs, beans and dairy products. Fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium, iron, and potassium are also important to keep your diet balanced.Avoid diets that say to steer clear of consuming fats and carbohydrates in fear they may make the pounds pile on. There are certain types of fats and carbohydrates that are actually healthy for you.For example, according to www.medecinenet.com, avocados, which pack in a good deal of fat, provide phytochemicals as well as over 25 essential nutrients, such as fiber, potassium, vitamin B and E, and folic acid.It has also been said that avocados are good for the skin and hair. Other healthy fats to make note of are extra virgin olive oil and omega 3 fatty acids (found in fish such as salmon). Just make sure to limit the amount of fat eaten, because eating too much of anything is never beneficial for a healthy diet. In regards to carbohydrates, avoiding them completely is unhealthy even though weight-loss may occur briefly, the weight will be re-gained almost immediately. According to www.wideworldoffood.com, "Carbohydrates are one of the three essential macronutrients, and are vital to maintaining your body's health and nutrition. Carbohydrates fuel our brains and central nervous system, and are of paramount importance for neonatal development."

It is important to choose complex carbohydrates when choosing bread, cereal, or pasta. Look for foods that advertise whole grains instead of white bread or even whole wheat.

Get the exercise you need

Another important part of living a healthy lifestyle is getting exercise and staying active. www.clevelandclinic.org suggests 30 to 60 minutes of exercise at least three times a week in order to see results. Here are a few easy tips to leading an active lifestyle.Set aside specific days and times for exercise. The purpose of this is to make exercise an important part of your schedule.Change it up. Exercise doesn't have to get boring. Try jogging one day, speed walking the next, or hit up your local gym and see what fun classes are offered. Maybe a relaxing yoga class or an intense cycle class will be just what you're looking for.

If a busy schedule is getting in the way of the active lifestyle you are trying to achieve, try to take the stairs and walk whenever possible. Exercise adds up throughout the day and every little bit counts.Student Lauren Fitzpatrick has been trying to fit daily exercise into her busy routine. "Even though I am really busy with school and work, finding an extra 30 minutes or an hour a day to exercise gives me more energy and makes me feel so much better about myself. The more I do it the easier it gets," Fitzpatrick said.

According to www.mayoclinic.com, exercise not only helps manage your weight, it helps combat chronic diseases, strengthens your heart and lungs, promotes better sleep, and help your sex life. "Regular exercise can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. There's more to it than that. Exercise improves your circulation, which can lead to more satisfying sex. And men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise" According to www.mayoclinic.com.

Get your eight hours

Sleep is a crucial aspect to leading a healthy lifestyle."When I don't get enough sleep I feel like I can't function the next day. I can't concentrate on anything and I feel like a zombie. I also almost always get sick when I don't get enough sleep," said Palomar student Elizabeth Hansen. According to www.sleepfoundation.org, sleep is essential for a person's health and well being, and there is no "magic" number for hours of sleep everyone needs per night. However, eight hours per night is the recommended amount for adults. Here are some tips from www.apa.org to help with sleep problems many people face.

Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise is as important as healthy food habits, to maintain a competent lifestyle. Some people eat well, but avoid working out. The benefits of exercise have been proved time and again and don't need any further advocacy. If your working schedule is too hectic to allow you any time for exercise, try to find other ways of working out. For instance, shun the elevators and climb up the stairs to your office. You can also walk till the market, rather than rolling out your car every time you want to buy something.

Take Proper Sleep

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will become impossible with a lack of proper sleep. Never compromise with your sleeping hours, under any circumstance. Less sleep hampers your efficiency by making you feel lazy and inactive. Try to establish a fixed bed time routine and follow it religiously. You should get up in the morning feeling fresh and active, raring to go!

Take Time-Outs And Relax

No matter how busy you keep, take a breather once in a while, to rejuvenate your mind and recharge your batteries. Life, especially in the present times, is too demanding and challenging, and as such, it becomes important to relax. Chill out to de-stress yourself. To maintain a lifestyle that is healthy, it is important to feel happy and stress-free. You can also go on occasional vacations, to dump all your worries aside and get on with the fun in life.

Organize Your Activities

In the run up to a healthy lifestyle, we often fail to prioritize, rather organize our activities well. You may want to incorporate some form of exercise in your daily routine, but end up completing some other important task in your scheduled workout time. Always remember that an organized lifestyle is a competent lifestyle. Systematize your tasks and get rid of the habit to procrastinate. There is nothing like a well-arranged day, to live a healthy life.