Introduction:
Healthy lifestyle counseling focuses on preventing global risks to health. A healthy lifestyle comprises a healthy diet, fitness through physical activity, following good habits, and mental well-being.
It is alarming and concerning that people are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease due to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, imbalance in glucose control, diabetes because of smoking habits, or are significantly overweight and have morbid obesity. It is very easy to tackle these risk factors through significant lifestyle interventions promoting good health with diet changes and regular physical activity. However, some people cannot make or maintain these changes independently due to a lack of motivation and guidance. Healthy lifestyle counseling helps people to overcome the lack of dedication to the long-term commitment to good habits.
What Is the Significance of Healthy Lifestyle Counseling?
It helps to formulate long-term and short-term commitment goals and motivate and support in changing daily habits and routines to advocate quality health and prevent emerging medical conditions or worsening of a medical condition. Healthy lifestyle counseling is a helpful tool in which one is trained and guided in the fundamentals and practices of selecting, planning, and continuing an organized and successful life through structured guidance and motivation.
What Is the Objective of Healthy Lifestyle Counseling?
The overall aim of healthy lifestyle counseling is to support healthier lifestyle habits to improve health. It engages individuals in the process of lifestyle change.
How Does a Family Medicine Practitioner Conduct Healthy Lifestyle Counseling?
A family medicine practitioner acts as a guide or coach to conduct a structured lifestyle program through a long-term commitment to achieve long-term or short-term goals as per the health demands, based on a partnership between patients and family practitioners. The partnership is based on respect, dedication, mutual interest, understanding and evaluation of illness or potential risk factors, measurements and goal setting, long-term support and commitment, and a structure to support counseling within the primary care unit. Thus, lifestyle counseling can be effectively performed in the context of primary health care.
Is Healthy Lifestyle Counseling Effective?
The innumerable study and research of evidence of the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in reducing cardiovascular risk or any other alarming or life-threatening medical condition have been proven effective and beneficial in supporting healthier lifestyle habits.
What Does Healthy Lifestyle Counseling Focus On?
Healthy lifestyle counseling focuses on a structured, holistic approach to promoting quality life, encompassing physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health.
What Is the Strategy of Healthy Lifestyle Counseling?
Health promotion and health maintenance through healthy lifestyle intervention is the main strategy of healthy lifestyle counseling.
The researchers define healthy lifestyle counseling as a multidimensional model of practices and actions that help continue and reinforce health through set goals and targets by individuals for the betterment of health and well-being.
How Important Is a Lifestyle?
Lifestyle is important because it helps in the betterment of life and has the potential to prevent disease. Lifestyle dictates life goals. A healthy lifestyle is essential for anyone who wants to feel their best and stay healthy as they age. However, individuals are bombarded with so much information daily that it can be difficult to determine what is best for their health, and preventive healthcare can be confusing. Different messages about well-being are conveyed, and determining which advice to follow can be difficult. However, leading a healthy lifestyle can be easy.
Easy access to doctor's appointments with timely diagnostics and regular health screenings is essential for keeping the body in good working order. In addition, they will aid in the early detection of any changes or issues, which is critical to good clinical outcomes.
What Is a Healthy Diet?
A healthy diet helps to protect against nutrition deficiency in all forms. A healthy diet is significant in addressing long-standing and chronic medical conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. It helps prevent potentially life-threatening conditions like cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The composition of a healthy diet depends on a person’s needs and health demands (like age, sex, lifestyle, social background, occupation, degree of physical activity), cultural background, and locally sourced foods. Nevertheless, the basic elements of a healthy adult diet constitute wholesome and well-balanced food that helps nurture an individual’s health.
A healthy diet should ideally constitute the following:
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2000 to 2500 calorie intake through food and supplements.
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Locally sourced vegetables, seasonal fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, and organically grown whole grains.
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Cutting back on free sugars or natural sugars.
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Less than 30 % of total energy intake should be obtained from the diet's unsaturated fats rather than saturated fats. Examples of unsaturated fat sources are fish, avocado, and avocado oil, nuts and seeds, sunflower, soybean, canola, and olive oils, which are essentially healthier options than saturated fats like butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee. It is best to avoid trans fats, including industrially-produced trans-fats present in fried and baked foods, ready-to-eat and pre-packaged snacks and foods, such as frozen fries, frozen pizza, popcorn, and pies, chips, cookies, biscuits, wafers, and cooking oils and dips, spreads, and squashes.
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Avoid commercially-produced trans fats that are not part of a healthy diet.
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Less than 5 grams of salt per day. Salt should be iodized.
How Important Is Physical Activity?
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Physical activity helps to maintain weight better.
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Exercise helps lower blood cholesterol, improves glycemic control, and stabilizes blood pressure.
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It also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and any cancers.
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It helps boosts muscle strength and endurance.
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It results in a healthy mind and promotes mental well-being.
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Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and helps the heart and lungs to work more efficiently.
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It decreases the risk of heart attack and irreversible medical conditions.
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It improves lung condition.
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Being active has been proven to have multidimensional health benefits in maintaining physical fitness and mental well-being. It may even help to add years to life, thus having a positive impact on longevity.
Conclusion:
Healthy lifestyle counseling is intensive guidance, motivation, support, and a life-changing program that promotes good health through lifestyle modification and management. It specifically addresses health-promoting lifestyles and quality of life across all ages and gender.
