staying healthy

There are a few things that everyone can do to stay healthy. These include keeping a healthy weight, not using tobacco products or quit using tobacco products such as smoking cigarettes, and getting regular exercise.

Scroll through this page to view information on different ways to stay healthy or click on one of the links below to jump to a specific section.

Healthy Weight
Being Active
Healthy Diet
Alcohol Use
Tobacco Use
Chronic Diseases

Maintain a Healthy Weight
Keeping a healthy weight is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy. It's about a lifestyle that includes healthy eating, regular physical activity, and balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses.

Being overweight or obese can raise your blood pressure, and losing weight can help you lower your blood pressure. Healthy weight status in adults is usually determined by using weight and height to compute a number called the "body mass index" (BMI). BMI is used because it relates to the amount of body fat for most people.

WIDGET: BMI Calculator Widget:

• If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the "underweight" range.

• If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, it falls within the "normal" or Healthy Weight range.

• If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9, it falls within the "overweight" range.

• If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the "obese" range.

"Underweight", "normal", "overweight", and "obese" are all labels for ranges of weight.

Obese and overweight describe ranges of weight that are more than what is healthy for a person of a given height. Underweight describes a weight that is lower than what is considered healthy. If your BMI falls outside of the "normal" or Healthy Weight range, you may want to talk to your doctor or health care provider about how you might achieve a healthier body weight. Obesity and overweight have been shown to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and other health problems, especially if certain other risk factors are present, such as high blood pressure or physical inactivity.

Proper diet and regular physical activity can help to maintain a healthy weight.   Here are some additional information and resources that offer guidance on how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. 

SparkPeople
The SparkPeople mission is to SPARK millions of PEOPLE to reach their goals and lead healthier lives. They offer nutrition, health, and fitness tools, support, and resources that are 100% free!
www.sparkpeople.com

Healthy Weight Podcasts
Finding A Balance
Listen To / Watch This Podcast (4:39min)
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is about FINDING A BALANCE through healthy eating and physical activity.

Obesity and Women
Listen To This Podcast (3:57min)
This women's health podcast focuses on obesity in women and girls. It discusses obesity-related health risks and includes tips to help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Good diets and regular exercise are key to maintaining a healthy weight. The following sections will address being active and healthy diets.

Be Active
The Surgeon General recommends that adults should engage in moderate–level physical activities for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. 10 minutes at a time is fine too. 150 minutes each week sounds like a lot of time, but you don't have to do it all at once. Not only is it best to spread your activity out during the week, but you can break it up into smaller chunks of time during the day. As long as you're doing your activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Recommended Weekly Activity

Drinking too much alcohol is related to increased blood pressure. People who drink alcohol should do so in moderation. Moderate drinking for women is defined as an average of one drink or less per day. Moderate drinking for men is defined as an average of two drinks or less per day. More information on alcohol can be found at the CDC's Alcohol and Public Health Web site.

No Tobacco
Smoking injures blood vessels and speeds up the process of hardening of the arteries. Further, smoking is a major risk for heart disease and stroke. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. Quitting smoking lowers a person's risk of heart attack and stroke. Talk to your doctor, pharmacist or other health care provider about different resources available to help you quite smoking.   

Resources that are available to you to help you quit smoking or using tobacco products include:

1-800 Quit Line Services

smokefree.gov

Maryland Qutline  www.smokingstopshere.com
Toll-Free Number 1-800-QUIT-NOW (English and Spanish)

Delaware Quitline (Toll-Free Numbers)
1-866-409-1858 (English)
1-866-409-1858 (Spanish)
1-866-228-4327
 

Managing your Chronic Diseases
You may have already been diagnosed with a chronic illness or disease such as high blood pressure (hypertension) or diabetes.  It is important to your overall health that you know how to participate in treating your illnesses.  Part of doing this is knowing how the disease or illness affects your body and what you can do to manage your chronic disease. 

Sources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Healthy Weight - it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle! Available at http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/index.html  Content source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Physical Activity for Everyone. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html#Aerobic, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Fruits and Vegetable Benefits. Available at http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/publications/index.html