Healthanuary?
Whether you are taking part in Dry January, Veganuary, or any other health regime, just keep going!
January is renowned as the month for change, not only because we are celebrating a new year or because the winter solstice is behind us, but because by January 1, the adult population is probably feeling at its most unhealthy. Following weeks of partying, hangovers and general over-indulgence, come January, we are more compelled than ever to save ourselves, and step on the treadmill to righteousness.
January is the perfect time to ‘wipe the slate clean’ and become healthier, fitter and slimmer versions of ourselves. Not only to quell the underlying fears of developing a serious disease, but in a bid to just feel good about ourselves.
However, it is not just the festive season that claims our health, people living in the UK are among the unhealthiest in Europe, with just a quarter of British adults eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. In 2014, 84% of adults in England were classified as overweight or obese (a body mass index of 27 or above) compared to 63% twenty years earlier, and the situation is only getting worse.1 But we are not malnourished through a lack of food; we are simply consuming too much food, with an emphasis on junk food.
The social and psychological causes that lead to obesity are complex but with the situation at crisis point, obesity is now affecting one in four adults, and even more alarmingly, one in five children aged 10 to 11 in the UK2.
It is for this reason that Page & Page is raising health awareness to coincide with Obesity Awareness Week, which is taking place in the UK this week. As we know, not only can obesity lead heart disease, Type II diabetes and cancer, it can also affect a person’s quality of life, including depression and low self-esteem.
So, whether you are taking part in Dry January, Veganuary, cutting out junk food, walking to work, dancing, swimming, training for Couch to 5K, or just walking the dog, we wish you a very healthy 2020.
For information on healthy eating, please click on the link.
- ‘Obesity in the UK’, Wikipedia, January 2020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_Kingdom
- ‘Health Assured’, January 2020 https://www.healthassured.org/blog/8th-14th-january-national-obesity-awareness-week/
Author: Michelle Burt
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