By: Baylie Waller

The issue I am going to cover for Gateway is about the importance of fitness and nutrition for the quality of life. I will be looking into topics that deal with people who have specific dietary lifestyles and fitness regimens and how it impacts the way that they live.

Studies have shown that the dietary lifestyle a person has is related to the role of their health and well being.  According to the book, Statistics in Food Science and Nutrition, “While lack of energy and poor nutrition were once a major challenge – and unfortunately still are in many parts of the world – the present focus in developed countries is now more on excess energy, obesity, and how foods contribute to chronic lifestyle diseases like, for example, cardiovascular disease and diabetes” (41).  In addition to this, according to the Future Diets report by the UK’s Overseas Development Institute, almost one billion people living in developing countries can now be classified as overweight or obese.  This is an example of how more developed countries who have larger incomes and a more sedentary lifestyle tend to have more health issues due to the over consumption of food in current diets.  A poor diet and inactive lifestyle can lead to poor life quality and loss of independence.  The website, Nutrition Policy explains that diabetes caused from a poor diet is a leading cause of blindness and amputation.  The USDA also expresses how important fitness and nutrition is by saying, “healthier diets could prevent at least $71 billion per year in medical costs, loss productivity, and lost lives”.

I am going to look into many topics related to this issue.  These topics will consist of: Someone with diabetes, an athlete, and someone who has had a life-saving Bariatric surgery.