Health is a very important aspect in every individual person’s life. Being in a good state of health allows people to function properly and do their task effectively and efficiently. However, the current modern society is being plagued various diseases and illnesses that further cause people trauma and added expenses. These chronic diseases have emerged mainly because of the unhealthy lifestyle that most of the members of the society maintain. Taking good care of one’s health is always of vital importance because a healthy lifestyle will enable people to have a happy life and allow them to perform their tasks.
As such, healthy practices will keep the body in good shape and will protect a person from acquiring various illnesses. There are various ways for a person to stay healthy; however, a healthy lifestyle must be practiced even during childhood. Healthy habits formed early in childhood have a long term impact on health and well-being. With the characteristics of the modern lifestyle, people are encouraged to engage in healthy habits such as having a nutritious diet and involvement in physical activities.
Early childhood engagements in healthy practices will have benefits such as mental alertness and enhanced level of concentration, reduced risks of having various diseases, and boosts their self-esteem (Programmes 4 Children, 2009). Diabetes Diabetes is one of the diseases that are prevalent in the society; however, people are still unaware of the extent of the disease. Currently, there are almost 23. 6 million Americans or 7. 8 percent of the total population of Americans suffering from the disease and an estimate of 17. 9 million has been recently diagnosed with diabetes.
Unfortunately, 5. 7 million of the population is still unaware that they already have diabetes (American Diabetes Association, n. d. ). Diabetes is a disease wherein the body is unable to produce or properly utilize the hormone insulin. Insulin is a body hormone that is used to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy that is needed for various bodily functions (American Diabetes Association, n. d. ). Insulin is a body hormone produced by the pancreas.
It helps to transform sugar to glucose and it helps glucose to move around the cells. The pancreas regulates the amount of insulin in the body based on the levels of glucose in the system. But for a person with diabetes, the process is disrupted by the inability of the pancreas to produce sufficient insulin and the blood sugar levels goes too high (Manzella, 2007). Diabetes affects how the body uses the energy that it gets from the food consumed. Normally, the amount of sugar that is taken is transformed into simple sugar known as glucose for easier body absorption.
The glucose is transported within the body through blood circulation where it waits for the body cells to use them as energy source (Manzella, 2007). There are four major types of diabetes which includes the Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is the result of the body’s inability to produce its own insulin that is used to help glucose enter the cells and used up as energy. Type 1 diabetes occurs before the age of 30 but it may strike at any age. It may also be caused by a genetic disorder. Frequent injections of insulin are needed in this type of diabetes (Manzella, 2007).