WHO Guidelines for Living a Healthy Lifestyle.

WHO has provided guidelines for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These recommendations suggest that individuals should engage in physical activity on a regular basis and limit their consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Additionally, they should maintain a balanced diet and manage their stress levels. It is important to follow these guidelines to prevent chronic diseases and promote overall well-being.

To ensure a healthy lifestyle, WHO recommends eating lots of fruits and vegetables, reducing fat, sugar and salt intake and exercising. Based on height and weight, people can check their body mass index (BMI) to see if they are overweight. WHO provides a series of publications to promote and support healthy lifestyles.

12 steps to healthy eating

1. Eat a nutritious diet based on a variety of foods originating mainly from plants, rather than animals.
2. Eat bread, whole grains, pasta, rice or potatoes several times per day.
3. Eat a variety of vegetables and fruits, preferably fresh and local, several times per day (at least 400g per day).
4. Maintain body weight between the recommended limits (a BMI of 18.5–25) by taking moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity, preferably daily.
5. Control fat intake (not more than 30% of daily energy) and replace most saturated fats with unsaturated fats.
6. Replace fatty meat and meat products with beans, legumes, lentils, fish, poultry or lean meat.
7. Use milk and dairy products (kefir, sour milk, yoghurt and cheese) that are low in both fat and salt.
8. Select foods that are low in sugar, and eat free sugars sparingly, limiting the frequency of sugary drinks and sweets.
9. Choose a low-salt diet. Total salt intake should not be more than one teaspoon (5g) per day, including the salt in bread and processed, cured and preserved foods. (Salt iodization should be universal where iodine deficiency is a problem)
10. WHO does not set particular limits for alcohol consumption because the evidence shows that the ideal solution for health is not to drink at all, therefore less is better.
11. Prepare food in a safe and hygienic way. Steam, bake, boil or microwave to help reduce the amount of added fat.
12. Promote exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months, and the introduction of safe and adequate complementary foods from the age of about 6 months. Promote the continuation of breastfeeding during the first 2 years of life.

Note. BMI is derived from a person’s weight in kilograms, divided by height (squared) in centimetres. The recommended levels are adapted from the global WHO recommendation of 18.5–24.9 as a normal BMI.

Body mass index - BMI

BMI, formerly called the Quetelet index, is a measure for indicating nutritional status in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the person’s height in metres (kg/m2). For example, an adult who weighs 70 kg and whose height is 1.75 m will have a BMI of 22.9.

70 (kg)/1.752 (m2) = 22.9 BMI

For adults over 20 years old, BMI falls into one of the following categories.

Table 1. Nutritional status

BMINutritional statusBelow 18.5

Underweight

18.5–24.9

Normal weight

25.0–29.9

Pre-obesity

30.0–34.9

Obesity class I

35.0–39.9

Obesity class II

Above 40

Obesity class III

BMI ranges are used to determine the impact that excess body fat may have on an individual's well-being. These ranges are connected to adiposity and were created to gauge the risk of developing certain diseases. As BMI levels rise, so does the likelihood of developing various illnesses like cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and premature death. Children and adolescents are also recommended to use BMI as an indicator of health. For children, BMI is calculated similarly to adults and compared to z-scores or percentiles. The cut-off values used to determine the nutritional status of individuals aged 0-19 years are gender and age-specific, as the weight-to-height ratio varies in this group. The 2006 BMI-for-age reference indicates that for children aged 0-5 years, the cut-off points for overweight and obesity are the 97th and 99th percentile, respectively. For those aged 5-19 years, overweight is defined as a BMI-for-age value over +1 SD, and obesity as a BMI-for-age value over +2 SD.

History

BMI is widely used as a tool to determine the potential health risks associated with weight at a population level. It was created by Adolphe Quetelet in the 19th century and has become the most commonly used method due to its ease of measurement and calculation. However, like any measure, BMI is not without flaws. It only takes into account height and weight, and does not consider age, physical activity, or sex. Therefore, it may overestimate or underestimate adiposity in certain cases. To complement BMI estimates, other measures such as waist circumference (WC) can be used. However, it is important to scientifically analyze the association between WC and health risks using appropriate techniques.

Benefits of regular physical activity

Participating in physical activities, like walking, cycling, or dancing, can significantly improve health by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis, managing weight, and promoting mental well-being. Physical activity also provides opportunities for socializing, networking, and cultural identity, which can positively influence the community and society by promoting social interaction and cohesion. It can also empower and build self-confidence, particularly among children and young people, while preventing and controlling risk behavior such as tobacco, alcohol, and substance use, unhealthy diets, and violence. Furthermore, promoting walking and cycling over motorized transportation reduces traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, and fossil fuel consumption, thus having a positive impact on the environment. Regular physical activity can also benefit communities and economies through increased workplace productivity, lower worker absenteeism and turnover, and better school performance. By preventing common noncommunicable diseases associated with inadequate physical activity, promoting regular physical activity can also reduce healthcare costs and improve overall health outcomes.

Encouraging an active lifestyle is a sustainable approach to public health. People of all ages benefit from staying active, with children and young adults seeing particular benefits, while older individuals can experience significant improvements in well-being through active ageing. Access to quality recreational opportunities is essential for personal development and health, regardless of socioeconomic status, cultural background, functional ability, age, or gender.

Benefits of a balanced diet

• Opting for a balanced, adequate and varied diet is an important step towards a happy and healthy lifestyle.
• Vitamins and minerals in the diet are vital to boost immunity and healthy development,
• A healthy diet can protect the human body against certain types of diseases, in particular noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and skeletal conditions.
• Healthy diets can also contribute to an adequate body weight.
• Healthy eating is a good opportunity to enrich life by experimenting with different foods from different cultures, origins and with different ways to prepare food.
• The benefits of eating a wide variety of foods are also emotional, as variety and colour are important ingredients of a balance diet.