Energy Balance and Optimal Health
Optimal Health
To maintain optimal health, you need to achieve and maintain physical fitness. Physical fitness is a state of well-being that lowers your risk of premature health problems and provides you with energy to participate in a variety of physical activities.
You can achieve optimal fitness by maintaining a healthy balance among exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
- Exercise: As you have learned throughout this course, you need to participate in some form of physical activity a minimum of 60 minutes a day most days of the week.
- Nutrition: You can use the USDA's MyPlate guide as a resource for healthy eating.
- Sleep: As a teenager, you should aim for at least 9–10 hours of sleep every night (7–8 hours as an adult). This is the time when your body repairs and grows.
Energy Balance: "Calories In, Calories Out"
Energy balance is the relationship between energy in (food calories taken into the body) and energy out (calories being used in the body for daily energy requirements and exercise). You need to maintain energy balance in order to maintain a healthy weight and optimal health. In this interactivity, drag the slider left and right to see the relationship between calories and exercise. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Healthy Weight and Body Composition
Your energy in and energy out do not have to balance every day. It is having a general balance over time that will help you maintain a healthy body composition for the long term. Body composition is the combination of fat mass and fat-free mass in the body. Reaching and maintaining a healthy body composition is important for overall health and can help you prevent and control many diseases and conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. In this interactivity, learn how to measure your body composition by using your body mass index (BMI) and your waist circumference. Click the player button to begin,
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Body Types
Body types are categorized based on the structure and arrangement of fat mass and fat-free mass. Understanding your body type can help you better design a plan for maintaining lifelong health, wellness, and fitness. In this interactivity, you will learn about the characteristics of the ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph body types. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of this interactivity.
Measuring Blood Pressure
One aspect of maintaining optimal health is to periodically check your blood pressure. If you are unsure how often you should check your blood pressure you should speak with a trained medical professional. In this interactivity, learn how to measure your blood pressure with and without a cuff. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of this interactivity.
What does your blood pressure mean?
Most doctors recommend that you have your blood pressure checked at least once each year. A healthy blood pressure is considered to be 120/80. What does it mean if your BP is higher or lower than 120/80? Visit the following link from the Centers for Disease Control to find out what a normal blood pressure is and what type of blood pressure numbers can put your health at risk.
Sugar, Sodium, and Fats
How does your body respond to sugar, sodium and different types of fats? While your body needs these important substances, consuming too much sugar, sodium, and fat can lead to potential health problems. In this interactivity, explore how the body responds to these three substances. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of this interactivity.
Energy Balance and Optimal Health Review
Now that you have ways to maintain energy balance and optimal helath, check your knowledge by completing this non-graded interactivity. Click the player button to get started.