Allyssa Joy Malabanan

XI - Galileo
Health

ACTION COMES AFTER AWARENESS: WHY YOU SHOULD CHANGE YOUR BAD HEALTH
HABITS

It has been two years since it felt like the world stopped turning and everything felt static but
amidst the crisis, panic, and fear brought by the pandemic, it is known to all that it is necessary to keep
one's body and mind fit and healthy and yet despite knowing that health is wealth and preventive
measures such as eating a healthy diet and daily exercises, we conveniently ignore it for the sake of our
guilty pleasures.
Bad habits are often not addressed as most people do not consider its harmful effects in the long run
or are ignorant of its consequences and also changing it needs a lot of hard work, motivation and
perseverance and most people do not like hard work. Examples of bad habits that are usually glossed over
but lead to devastating consequences are eating junk foods, sleeping late, being a couch potato, excessive
sleeping, staying on the phone all day, and skipping meals. Another bad habit that you should not keep is
your unhealthy way of dealing with stress and boredom especially now that we are in the middle of a
pandemic such as smoking, drinking alcohol or eating too much as it is not good for your health and can
be the reason why chronic and lifestyle diseases occur.
According to the World Health Organization, more than one third of people aged 15 years and
above in the Philippines — some 15.7 million children, women, and men — are smokers while over half
of men and women aged 20 years old and above are binge drinkers. More than one in five people have
high blood pressure and only half of the population does sufficient physical activity. The proportion of
adults who are overweight or obese has doubled in the last 20 years, and obesity in children and teens is
rising at an alarming rate. Over 90% of Filipino adults did not meet the WHO recommended intake of 400
grams of fruits and vegetables per day. About 30% of children suffer from stunting, a condition which
further predisposes them to an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease later in life.
All of these shows the severity of the situation that we are in.
Because non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, cancer, and chronic diseases
that affect the airways and lungs that take over 300,000 Filipino lives a year are all preventable and
avoidable and yet the cases of it are steadily rising and have become one of the main reasons for mortality
in our country because we choose to be ignorant of what the consequences are of keeping our bad habits
and not putting effort to be healthy.
To change your bad habits and prevent cases of diseases brought out by long term bad habits from
rising, one must first be determined and motivated. Be firm and strict with yourselves. When you start
doubting and relapsing, visualize what would happen in the future if you continue your bad habits. Start
with baby steps so that you can adjust, such as setting goals that you can achieve before getting intense
and before you know it, your bad habits have changed. Slowly replace them with good, productive ones
such as reading, dancing, or eating fruits and vegetables instead of junk foods.
Being aware of your health is good but being aware and maintaining it is even better. You should eat
a healthy diet with go, grow and glow foods. Exercise daily and remember, gym equipment or going to
the gym is not needed as walking for 30 mins or light jogging is enough. Organize your sleep schedule so
that you can have 6-8 hrs of sleep. Drink a lot of water and eat on time. You should not only be aware as
awareness is not enough. You should also act. Knowledge should not always be stored, it also should be
applied because once not applied, it will become useless. Learning is not the same as doing.