30-year-old Rahul had a very active life. With a 9 to 5 job, he spent a significant amount of time at the gym, taking care of his physique, and of course, maintaining those ‘6-pack abs.’ Yet, one fine evening, after an amazing session at the gym, he collapsed on his way home, and was pronounced dead after a while, the cause of death being a heart attack.
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It’s food for thought: Does being fit actually mean being healthy?
If a seemingly perfect and fit body means being healthy, wouldn’t every person with a slim or athletic build be free of all health issues?
Truth be told, there’s a lot more to being healthy than just daily exercising and maintaining your weight. Working out and being active definitely gives your body the ability to be efficient and heal, but exercise alone cannot protect you from health issues like cardiovascular diseases or genetic disorders.
Here’s a list of the top reasons why being fit doesn’t always mean being healthy—
Diet
Regular exercise plays a key role in strengthening your lungs and heart, making it more efficient in pumping blood and taking in oxygen for your body to keep it going. However, what you eat has an even bigger role to play in determining your risk of a heart attack. If you eat foods that contain a high amount of saturated fats, you subject yourself to the risks of artery-clogging, which further contributes to heart attacks. Exercise cannot prevent your arteries from getting clogged by timely deposits of bad cholesterol and saturated fats. So, the next time you think you can eat ‘whatever you want’ just because you ‘run enough to compensate for it,’ think again! A balanced meal full of vital nutrients must be your plate’s best buddy.
Genetics
What runs in the family has a strong foothold on you. Be it chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes or serious health conditions like cardiovascular diseases—there’s always a possibility of them getting to you, if such conditions already run in your family. In such cases, fitness alone won’t work in keeping you healthy. Your diet, lifestyle, as well as timely tracking of your health become imperative.
Ignorance
When 30-year-old Rahul’s autopsy revealed that his heart had been scarring for a long time, it came to light that a seemingly fit person can have so much going on the inside. Needless to say, regular health checkups are a must to stay on top of every detail related to your health. From lifestyle diseases to chronic conditions—these timely health checks would give you an overview of your health status and what measures you must be taking to make sure nothing goes south in the future. As they say, when it comes to health, ignorance is never bliss.
Lifestyle
If you’re someone who jogs every morning without fail but consumes some amount of alcohol daily or suffers from sleep deprivation at night, then ‘healthy’ is a term that certainly won’t resonate with you. Addiction of any kind, be it to drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or even your mobile screen—is detrimental to your health. So, no matter how many hours you spend at the gym, an unhealthy lifestyle always accounts for an unhealthy you!
So, if being ‘fit’ has been your motto of late, it’s time you see the other side of the coin as well. Being ‘fit and healthy’ should be your ultimate goal and you must take care of all aspects discussed above to make sure your fitness and health always go hand in hand.
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