Advocating a Healthy Lifestyle

Okay, so after thinking about my advocacy topic over the past week, I have decided to shift gears from my usual pro-environment concerns to another issue which I find to be incredibly important: maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Of course, there are many components involved in living a healthy life, including diet, exercise, proper ways of dealing with stress, and lifestyle behaviors (such as drinking or smoking), among other factors. Narrowing this down, I intend to focus on the importance of healthy eating and nutrition as part of every person's ongoing daily routine. This is a topic that I have been advocating informally for several years now, and I feel that society as a whole would greatly benefit if more Americans became more health conscious. Some individuals may argue that their personal eating habits are their own choice and do not affect anyone other than themselves, however, in a country where obesity rates continue to climb (and thus the number of people suffering from obesity related diseases like Type 2 Diabetes also increases), we will all eventually suffer from increased insurance rates in order to cover these costs. I feel that steps are being taken in the right direction in order to overcome these circumstances (i.e. schools replacing soda machines with bottled water), however, there is still a long way to go. This issue is really important to me, and I look forward to working with several classmates on an advocacy project that will promote healthy lifestyles.

I will post again later regarding my personal eating habits and the amazed reactions I sometimes receive when acquaintances first become informed of my non-mainstream diet. But alas, that post will have to wait until late tonight or tomorrow...class awaits. Have a wonderful Thursday everyone! :)