Life style factors that affect health and fitness

Smoking
Smoking, I can never understand what posses somebody to begin smoking, it is a foul habit which has many effects to the heath of the user. For example, tar is a sticky substance that is inhaled by the user and sticks onto their lungs eventually building up over a period of time to cause cancer, smoking can also cause lead to cardio vascular disease which is the main cause of death relating to smoking. Smoking can cause COPD which means Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease which is a collection of problems that restrict airflow into the lungs making breathing become more difficult. The difficulty in breathing by the influence of smoking will affect fitness of the individual because as the body works the demand for oxygen increases therefore the breathing rate increases, if the airflow is restricted this limits the amount of oxygen getting to the muscles for them the keep working during exercise.

Everybody in society enjoys a drink on a Friday night and weekends. But just how much does alcohol affects our health and fitness? Alcohol will affect our health if a person drinks too much alcohol over a long period of time that will be damaging to the body. This can relate to serious health problems like cancer, heart disease and increase chances of having a stroke. Alcohol is a toxin or poison if to much is consumed however, in relation to the effects of exercise alcohols does effect your strength, endurance, recovery rate, aerobic capability which means how fast you get out of breath, and finally effects how we can loose fat and produce muscle. For anybody who is drinking over 3-4 units of the recommended daily intake of alcohol, are putting themselves at risk. Also to drink and be physically fit is impossible, a little bit now and then is acceptable but not every weekend or everyday where they are considered drunk.

Alcohol

Drinking
People who are physically fit must ensure they drink enough water to ensure they do not become dehydrated during exercise. Drinking is important to the body because 70% of the human body is water. Drinking water is all good and healthy however, when you are exercising you need an energy boost to make your body work harder; there are drinks such as Lucozade sport or PowerAde, which are designed to increase energy levels for exercise. This is because these drinks contains caffeine which is used as a stimulant to enhance mental and physical activity. Water is also important as it helps to regulate the temperature of the body, the recommended intake for a healthy adult is between 1.5 - 3 litres a day. This is to keep the body hydrated and healthy during and after exercise.

Drug abuse
Illegal drugs are of no benefit to any person who uses them, this is so they can cause major problems within the body. For example, Cocaine is a common illegal drug that causes heart attacks and an increase in heart rate, respiratory rate and elevated blood pressure. Heroin is also very common and will cause respiratory depression of failure.

Drugs will effect how efficient somebody will be able to exercise as what ever the person consumes effects how they think and how the body acts in reaction to taking the drug for pleasure. Putting these destructive substances into your body is the quickest way to undermine all of the positive benefits of exercise, through exercise you can increase your overall strength, stamina and health which will all be cancelled out if this person still continues to consume harmful substances.

Diet
Diet can have a major effect on exercise as it will affect how the body performs during exercise. As you can see below there is a diagram of how much in a percentage the different types of food we should consume daily.

Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are an ideal source of energy for the body that is slowly released throughout the day, this is effective because carbohydrates can be converted into glucose a form of sugar and stored for when the body requires the use of the energy. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. E.G. simple carbohydrates known as sugars: Biscuits, cakes, chocolate Honey and jams Pizza Sweets and snack bars Prepared foods and sauces Brown and white cane sugar

E.G. complex carbohydrates are referred to as starchy foods. bananas barley beans brown rice nuts oats Parsnips, Potatoes, root vegetables, sweet corn wholegrain cereals wholemeal flour, breads, pasta and cereals. Proteins Proteins are used for cell growth and tissue repair. All cells are compounds called amino acids, there are two types of amino acids: non- essential amino acids: these acids can be made by the body. essential amino acids: these acids cannot be made by the body, they must be taken in from food. The types of food essential amino acids come from are: meat fish eggs dairy products.

Fats Fats or lipids are important for a balanced diet as lipids are concentrated sources of energy as well as being structural components for cell membranes. There are three main types of fatty acids that affect the body and fitness; saturated fats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fats will cause an increase blood cholesterol if consumed regularly, this puts the consumer at risk of heart disease. Foods such as high fatty foods like pizza, chips, burgers that are full of saturated fats. Monounsaturated fats such as olive oils, are used to replace saturated fats. These types of fats reduce blood cholesterol, risk of heart disease and limit the chance of having a stroke. Polyunsaturated fats are split into two oils that have a positive affect of fitness as these oils are essential for health and fitness which help with strength, speed and stamina For example, omega 3 and 6.

Vitamins
Vitamins are very important for fitness are they act as a source of energy for major organs and muscles. For example, the most important Vitamins for fitness:

Vitamin A - Acts as a shield for the mucous membrane for the nose, mouth, throat and lungs. Vitamin A also repairs the bodies tissues and improves vision at night are some of its other benefits. Vitamin B1 - assists the heart and nervous system the operate and function properly and efficiently, also helps to digest carbohydrates. Vitamin B2 - helps to build antibodies; and red blood cells with protein to repair the body, also helps store fats to be used as energy later and help carbohydrate metabolism. Vitamin B6 - helps in synthesis, also assists in the breakdown of amino acids, minimizes cramps, helps to control the balance of sodium and phosphorus content in the body, also helps the produce antibodies to fight against bacteria or viruses.

Vitamin C - effects synthesis of collagen, helps to prevent scurvy, provides the necessary strength to blood cells, also helps with the healing of injuries and fractures. Vitamin D - consumes the correct amount of calcium and phosphorus and ensures these minerals are used effectively. Vitamin D also helps in bone and teeth development. Vitamin E - helps to increase oxygen supply, also helps to prevent sterility in men and women and blood cells nourish from Vitamin E. Vitamin K - assists the formation of blood clots for wounds and assists healing of injuries.

Hygiene and Stress

Poor hygiene is of no excuse for any individual, hygiene can seriously affect your health and fitness. For example, if somebody is ill and doesn't wash their hands often enough the illness can take longer for the body to fight off because this ill person still has the bacteria on their hands. When you are ill your first priority is to get better, in the meantime you want to stay at home with a warm drink and be as comfortable as possible, if you are ill for a while. For example, two weeks or so, your fitness will be effected if you very active during the week, also if this illness keeps ongoing then your fitness will decline over that period of time. Stress is part of day to day life, everybody gets stress or a little annoyed. Some people when they are stressed use fitness as a remedy to take out that pressure that has build up inside and let it out into something physical, E.G. Boxing or swimming. However stress does have health related effects, if a person was to get stress a lot regularly, they could become more likely to become ill, also stress can result in an increase in blood pressure and risk of heart attack and heart failure. Stress also effects the lungs and can develop asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

When applying to a public service, the notified life style factors can really affect whether you get the job or not. For example, smoking, drugs and excessive alcohol will affect your fitness dramatically, when preparing for long term employment in the services your fitness must be higher than basic standards to give you a chance to stand out from the other applicants. Also drinking plenty of water and having a balanced diet to benefit your bodies needs is very important. For example, if you are exercising continuously for an hour approximately , would you really forget to take a bottle of water with you? Or course you wouldn't when you are preparing for service you want to as physically fit as you possibly can . So if you smoke, do drugs or drink lots of alcohol, stop immediately, its has no positive benefit what so ever . Stopping things that are effecting your health will soon have positive effects. For example, you can save lots of money that can be put towards buying a bicycle for fitness sessions, or gym membership. Either way when you are going through phase 1 training for your chosen service you need to be fit otherwise you don't get accepted. For example, myself I want to go into the RAF Police, and work with the search dog trade as I have discussed earlier about my fitness testing I have already met the RAF fitness requirements however I still need to improve to increase my chances of standing out from the crowd and getting into my trade and my long term career.