by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: March 19, 2009

In theory, everybody should consider exactly what it is they are putting into their mouths, because the foods that people choose to consume can affect their long-term health and well-being, not just their waistlines. It seems that a lot of people do not give much thought to the fact that they are eating foods containing far too much saturated fat and refined sugars. That is until they suddenly decide to step on the scales only to find out they are not as svelte as they used to be, and suddenly acknowledge the need to cut their calorie intake.

No longer do men have to stand in a field all day growing corn or stalk the woods for prey in order to provide a meal for them and their families. Indeed, for most people the most amount of exercise they get involves walking around the supermarket in order to buy convenience meals. It is perhaps this inactive lifestyle which has been most detrimental to people's health, as they are consuming too many calories for the amount of energy they expend. The proliferation of fast food restaurants and junk food has not helped the situation, either.

In the past families tended to sit at the dinner table to eat three solid meals a day, with maybe an occasional snack in between, but this is no longer customary, as people's lives have become more hectic and less routinised. Everybody is coming and going, grabbing food when they can. Little forethought is given to what will be eaten; individuals just reach for what is available and quick to prepare. The microwave means that a mini pizza can be cooked within two minutes, and it tastes good, so there is little incentive to spend hours slaving over a hot stove just because the food produced will be more nutritious.

Until vanity kicks in, that is. People following an unhealthy diet, failing to get the right balance of carbohydrates, protein, fruit and vegetables and fats, will be more likely to fall ill, will often have bad skin and brittle hair, will often have very little energy, and may have trouble with their weight. However, they are generally so used to feeling that way it can be difficult to make the connection between their diet and poor health, and to make changes to their lifestyle in order to improve the situation.

Yet, when people decide to lose weight properly, eating healthily rather than embarking on a fad diet, they soon notice the benefits of getting the right nutritional balance as they lose weight and start to feel better about themselves. Losing weight obviously helps boost their self-esteem, but just cutting refined sugars and saturated fat from their diets will ultimately improve their mental as well as physical health when their dependence on such foods ebbs away. Diet does matter and it is something which should be given more consideration in today's society, not simply seen as a way of gaining or losing weight, but also as a way of helping to prolong and improve an individual's quality of life.

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