Executive Summary
In the contemporary world, things move very fast such that people have little time to think of their lifestyles. An urbanized family, for example, has no time to prepare some nutritious breakfast. Therefore, the family is forced to buy some muffins, fries, or other snacks for breakfast. School going children have introduced too fast foods at very tender ages before their immune systems are fully developed. Diabetes, non-communicable diseases, and obesity are some of the medical conditions that are on the rise in children.
Businesspeople are taking advantage of people’s tightened schedules to generate profits. They avail the appetizing and unhealthy meals in every corner of the town, and customers cannot afford to overlook their displays. Adverts will encourage people to eat what they enjoy; people will be encouraged to eat what is delicious to keep up with the evolving world.
However, selfish businesspeople never reveal the adverse healthcare conditions associated with poor eating habits. Mostly people consume unhealthy meals because of convenience, but they disregard the repercussions of their actions. People are aware that what they consume today determines their health condition in the future, but ignorance overcomes their thoughts.
Definition and Analysis of the Situation
People are said to live a healthy lifestyle if they eat healthy meals, drink enough water, and if they do enough exercise. However, most people in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) find healthy snacks to be more expensive than fast foods. Hamburgers and roasted chicken are some of the fancy foods rich in saturated fats. The foods have high-calorie content, and their salt content is quite high.
They expose the eaters to developing heart diseases and high blood pressure. Unlike early days when only the glitterati would suffer from lifestyle diseases, businesspeople have employed pricing strategies that capture all classes of people. The youths and children are becoming victims of the skinned roasted chicken and fries that are cheap and very convenient as compared to wholesome foods.
In the modern world, people want to live classic lifestyles similar to those of their peers. People want to eat some delicious food, and they will argue that vegetables are not tasty. Most people will regard the whole grain meals as old fashioned, and they would choose to consume shifted and polished grains. People will opt to take flavored drinks instead of pure water in the name of fashion.
Essentially, the foods that people in the contemporary world disregard are the healthiest foods to consume. A combination of the healthy foodstuffs would offer the body with a balanced diet containing fibers, proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-calorie foods, and pure water are the best intakes for a healthy lifestyle.
Another essential aspect that people disregard in their daily routine is exercise. Exercise is a significant factor that ensures that the body gets enough physical activities. Training enables the body to shed off excess fats and rejuvenate enough energy needed in the daily activities. Walking or cycling to work, especially for short distances, is a very healthy exercise that would keep people young and healthy.
However, people in the UAE will regard walking or cycling as wastage of time. With their busy schedules, they want the fastest means of transport possible. People wish to instant foods, and the manufacturers have indeed achieved in meeting their needs. The instant coffee, tinned foodstuffs, and skimmed milk products are but a few of the immediate consumables that people desire. The coffee makers, the microwaves, rice cookers, and other automatic machinery that people in the contemporary world wish to have simplified their work.
Background of the Situation
According to research, the unhealthy lifestyles were not there in the past. People could do almost everything manually, and vigorous activities could shape their bodies. People could do the farming activities manually, wash clothes manually, wash dishes manually, and do most chores manually. However, in the contemporary world, technology has made everything automatic.
Machines have simplified the way people do things, and manual work is outdated. According to research, people attribute their unhealthy lifestyles with the nature of life in the contemporary world. The mental health, physical health, the quality of the jobs that people do, and the daily life stresses work together to lead people into unhealthy lifestyles. An individual who is either unemployed or earns very little to meet the high costs of living is susceptible to unhealthy lifestyles in a different aspect other than the automated lifestyles.
Life stresses would lead one into using drugs and abusing substances. Many alcoholics report having adopted their unhealthy lifestyles because of life stresses associated with their insufficient income. Essentially, the number of alcoholics in the UAE has increased excessively in the recent past.
About ten years ago, America was the only nation that had the most significant number of obese people. However, the other countries are slowly adopting unhealthy lifestyles, and obesity is on the rise. The UAE is almost catching up with the United States as the individuals are slowly adopting unhealthy lifestyles. A survey indicated that 70% of the UAE residents start their days in unhealthy ways. Firstly, they take snacks instead of taking nourishing breakfasts because of convenience.
Their tightened schedules do not give them time to exercise or time to find healthy lunch meals. Therefore, they end up taking junk food for lunch and ordering for take-away meals for their dinners. The survey reported that about 60% of the UAE residents do not care to carry sufficient water, and about 20% of the respondents deliberately avoid physical activities. Primarily, the above-mentioned behaviors have inclined over the past ten years amongst the residents of the United Arab Emirates.
Significance of the Situation
It is evident that the UAE residents are aware of the tragedy of the unhealthy lifestyles at hand. However, it is essential to insist on the situation so that the residents can understand the level of significance of the case. As much as people know what it means to be healthy, they do not bother to adopt healthy lifestyles simply because they care less. Some individuals say they can only supplement their diet with vitamins or take the recommended amount of water if they have prescriptions from the doctors.
It is important for people to know that whatever they do to their bodies is for their good, and that prevention is better than cure. Some people will argue that healthy lifestyles are too expensive, but they should be informed that what seems cheap at present would prove to be extremely expensive in the future.
It is the duty of people to take responsibility for their lives, and the task begins by taking care of their health. It is worth noting that unhealthy lifestyles are more susceptible to teenagers and young adults aged between 16 and 22 years. Therefore, such individuals are cautioned about their luxurious lifestyles.
If the current situation is not addressed, the UAE may become a nation with people with adverse healthcare conditions in the future. The rise of chronic diseases associated with unhealthy lifestyles is a threat to the UAE residents. People who do not want to experience the hassles or the stresses of life are turning to comfort foods, alcohol, and electronic gadgets to relieve their stresses.
People are avoiding the sunburns, and consequently, they cannot burn the excess calories through walking. Instead, people will take huge amounts of snacks and walk directly into their air-conditioned cars to keep away from the heat of the sun. The behaviors have become habitual, and the young children are slowly adopting the routine through their busy schedules of watching television and playing video games. Nowadays, children do not play vigorous games, and neither do they help in house chores.
They are always busy watching movies or playing video games. It is noteworthy that stress relievers only solve problems in the short run, but they create long-term problems. Indeed, the United Arab Emirates may have difficulties in addressing the issues in the future. The youths will grow into sickly adults who will not be able to handle some chores. If nothing is done, the UAE society will have high numbers of people living with unhealthy lifestyle conditions, and generally, the lifespan of the people will decrease drastically.
Expanded Planning
Tributes go to the vice president and prime minister of the UAE for promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum not only heads the nation, but he is also the chairperson of the sports council of Dubai. In 2009, Sheikh facilitated the launch of a physical activity program called the “Dubai Pulse.”
The program aims at bringing awareness of the adverse effects of the unhealthy lifestyles in society. It stimulates people to resolve that the repercussions of their unhealthy lifestyles are indeed more harmful than they anticipate. Therefore, Dubai sports counsel requires people across all sectors of society to increase physical activity. The UAE residents are obliged to have a decreased record of the number of overweight individuals. Swimming, walking, athletics, and cycling are some of the activities facilitated by the “Dubai Pulse.”
The sporting activities take place in parks, open beaches, and major sporting grounds. “Dubai Pulse” has joined hands with major governmental bodies like the Dubai Municipality, Dubai police, Dubai health authority, tourism department, and the community development authority to smoothen the progress of their dream. Essentially, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum aims at making the UAE one of the world’s countries with fit people.
After all the physical activities, the UAE residents will have increased physical and intellectual abilities to take part in most of the sporting activities in the world. With the Sheikh’s determination and the efforts of the UAE residents, Dubai can qualify to host international sports events. Indeed, other organizations are encouraged to come up with additional physical fitness programs that will promote healthier lifestyles amongst UAE residents.