Health vs Happiness Essay

Picture this: you are hungry, busy, and don’t really feel like cooking or cleaning. So you dash to the nearest fast food joint and order a fat, juicy burger with some fries and a soda to wash it down. Once in a while this may be okay, but if you find yourself taking this easy way out more than once a week, there may be consequences. The American Heart Association states that diets high in salt, cholesterol, sugar and fat can take away from other essential nutrient levels. This may lead to heart problems or obesity. Practicing little or no physical activity can lead to further health complications. Is it a waste of time to watch what you eat or how you exercise? Maybe not. Skipping those fast food meals and substituting with a sandwich made at home or packing leftovers for lunch takes no more time than pulling into the drive through. Getting up and walking around your office a few minutes each day is better than sitting at your desk all day. If you do choose tha fast food route, park your car and go inside to order. If you think life is too short to care about what you eat, think again. You may, in fact, be shortening your life by taking shortcuts. If you are a smoker, that makes it much shorter. Some people may feel that they are happier if they can eat what they want when they want it. But is being overweight, fatigued and lazy being happy? For me, it is not. I am not the perfect picture of health, but I do feel that being healthy is being happy. I did not watch what I was eating or how I was taking care of myself until I became pregnant. I started eating healthier, drinking more water, and feeling better. Feeling better physically made me happier. I am no longer pregnant and still plan on keeping the healthy habits I kept while pregnant. Keeping healthy habits also gives one more energy, which in turn may help with exercising. Eating healthy and exercising could reduce stress. Less stress equals more happiness. So does being healthy mean being happy? I say to each his own. If you are happy being obese and having health problems, then so be it. I, for one, am happy being healthy.