Health promotion strategies and interventions

Health Promotion

'Health' is one of the most desired assets since it is a well-acknowledged fact that only a healthy person can enjoy the various beauties and bounties of this world. But for a person to stay healthy, it is not only the medical illnesses that he needs to avoid but also passivity and a lethargic lifestyle. An inactive life is just as bad as a life with some chronic medical illness since it breeds boredom, obesity, frustration, stress and leads to a poorer self-image. An active person on the other hand is more likely to enjoy life to the fullest. For this reason, exercise must be part of our daily routine.

However though health is desired and benefits of exercise are well-known, still many people find it difficult to adhere to a work-out regimen or some form of daily exercise. Most people complain of lack of motivation and others feel something is hampering their ability to work-out. It is thus important to find out how we can keep ourselves motivated and what is it that would support our ability to exercise.

One important thing is health itself. A healthy person may find it easier to start and stick to an exercise regimen because of vitality compared to a person suffering from some medical condition. But healthy person may then lack the motivation that an ill person may have to exercise since the latter's knows how importance exercise is to stay fit and healthy. I believe that the one thing that can help anyone start and stick to a work-out regimen is motivation. Find out what is it that really motivates you. For me, it is the mere idea of socializing with others that inspires me to join some group activity like dancing and trekking. For others, it can be the desire to see themselves in certain type of clothes and yet some one else may just like the great feeling that exercise produces. For everyone person, motivation factors may differ but they do exist and it is important to find out what those factors are before they can hope to begin exercising on a daily basis and stick to it for the long haul.

This was for the medically healthy people but what about people with chronic medical conditions like diabetes for example? Can they also hope to stay fit and healthy? I would have had a hard time believing that it was possible had I not read about this super-star of cricketing world in Asia, Wasim Akram. I read about him online and realized that any person could overcome his medical condition provided he was appropriately motivated. Akram is suffering from diabetes from a very young age but still managed to not only become the fastest bowler in the cricket world but also broke many world records. Wasim Akram's success lies in never giving up and in always following a healthy exercise routine and diet. Since he is a sportsperson, he is required to work-out daily and because of diabetes, he cannot eat the same things as others and when he does, he has to be careful about quantity and hence he has a special diet program that he follows.