Instant food, instant coffee, instant messages; life is getting hi-tech and so are the people. Everyone is getting impatient. Gone are the days of ‘slow and steady wins the race’, now is the era of ‘fast and furious’. Now nobody believes in ‘early to bed, early to rise; makes a man healthy wealthy and wise’ ideology. It is the time of MNC’s and BPO culture. Days are becoming nights and nights are becoming flashier, more fashionable and more productive. So obviously, if lifestyle is changing so rapidly, food can’t be of any exception.

World is racing and nobody wants to be left behind. Just have a look around you, and you will see a society, which is fast and hyper. People are obese and stressed out. They do talk about eating healthy diets and doing regular exercise, but nobody has the time to do that. In such scenario, no wonder that junk food, canned fruits and vegetables are preferred than seasonal, fresh and home cooked food.

Indeed the world is on racing wheels and nobody is unaffected by it, be it affluent or poor. Studies have shown that these days, the major causes of death are: motor vehicle accidents (because of fast and rash driving),heart diseases (because of high fat diet, lack of exercise and high cholesterol levels); and cancer (because of cigarette smoking).

These all factors lead to a completely different category of diseases called lifestyle diseases or diseases of longevity. These kinds of diseases tend to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer.

Now, what should be done regarding all this? How people should be made to change their health behaviors? The answer is that first of all, the person should make some conscious decision on his part to adopt various health behaviors. Some factors which can assist him in adopting healthier behavior are:

• Having knowledge about what is healthy and what is unhealthy.
• Being competent enough to believe in one self that one can adopt these health behaviors.
• Getting support from near and dear ones.
• Having a positive attitude towards life.
• Having various resources like health care professionals and other health facilities.

What follows are the strategies that you can use to move towards a healthier life style. First of all, analyze your routine, that at what time you wake up, at what time you go to sleep; what kind of physical activity you do; when, where and why you smoke or drink alcohol etc.

And then, start looking for some alarming symptoms like: shortness of breath, feeling exhausted for the whole day without doing any real physical or mental activity. After that, you will be able to identify that whether you need to change your current lifestyle and adopt some healthier behaviors or not. If your answer is yes, you just need to follow these simple steps:

• Once you make a decision to adopt a positive health behavior, do try to stick to it.
• Make your intentions known publicly, so that your friends and family can support you.
• Write your diet plan and exercise schedule and make sure to follow them properly.
• Set your goals and make concrete plans to achieve them.
• Try to avoid spending more time on TV, Net and mobile.
• Respect your life and stop playing with it by driving fast and ‘living life on the edge’ attitude.
• Slow down your routine, take short naps in between.
• Start appreciating nature and thank God for various small and sweet things which he has done for you.

Now, whatever authentic information you have gathered or plans you have made apply it on your lifestyle and make every possible effort to maintain it. Once you start practicing them, you will increase your longevity; your body will function more properly and will have greater endurance power. Believe me, your body will thank you one day for giving it such a blissful state of perfect physical and mental wellbeing.