RISKS OF UNHEALTHY EATING

There is a direct relationship between your level of physical activity and how much energy you use up from the food you eat. If you eat more than you use the surplus energy is stored as body fat; this means you will become overweight which in itself increases your risk of disease and disability. 

You have a higher risk of getting Coronary Heart Disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, constipation, joint pain, breathlessness and being obese. Your risks multiply if you eat too much animal fat, smoke, drink alcohol and take very little exercise.

Coronary Heart Disease

Eating too much animal fat is a main cause of ill-health. Our bodies need very little but most of us eat too much. You may have heard of saturated fats. These are found mainly in the meat of cows, pigs and sheep and in products which include their meat and fat, such as sausages, meat pies and beef burgers. Eating too much Saturated Fat can lead to Coronary Heart Disease and being overweight.

Eating too much red meat can also increase your cancer risk. Skip processed meats like bacon, ham, pastrami, salami, sausage, hot dogs and pepperoni. Choose fish, poultry, or beans instead of beef, pork or lamb.

Unsaturated fats, however, are found in oily fish, chicken, eggs, turkey, duck, beans and lentils and foods made from these. Unsaturated fat may be better for you, but eating too much fat of any type can increase your weight. It is better to buy a small amount of lean meat rather than fatty meat or solid fat. It is even better to eat more fish of all kinds. Remember to cut down on any animal fat used in cooking, e.g. in soups do not add fat and do not fry food.

Hypertension

In some people, eating too much salt can make high blood pressure much worse. In others, the same amount of salt consumption may have no effect. This, combined with the fact that too much salt is bad for the heart regardless of blood pressure status, means that reduced sodium is a strongly recommended part of a healthy diet. These recommendations are especially important in the setting of secondary high blood pressure due to kidney problems.

Saturated fats, especially trans-fats, are bad for both the heart and blood vessels. Because the circulatory system is already under a lot of stress in the setting of high blood pressure, extra strain can be devastating. The balanced high blood pressure diet should include sparse amounts of saturated and trans-fats (red meat, fast food), and moderate amounts of other fats (olives, canola oil).

Diabetes mellitus

When you consume a lot of refined grains and sugar-rich foods, your glucose levels spike and drop repeatedly. Over time, these dramatic changes in your blood sugar levels can lead to insulin resistance, which is characterized by a decreased sensitivity to insulin. If this condition is not corrected, it can advance to Type 2 diabetes.

Obesity

Obesity is a major consequence of not eating healthy and it leads to major illnesses have been mentioned above. Obesity and overweight have in the last decade become a global problem - according to the World Health Organization (WHO) back in 2005 approximately 1.6 billion adults over the of age 15+ were overweight, at least 400 million adults were obese and at least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight. Experts believe if the current trends continue by 2015 approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. The scale of the obesity problem has a number of serious consequences for individuals and government health systems.