From a young age, we were taught about various eating disorders that people can have. Our health teachers encouraged healthy eating and exercise habits in order to prevent anyone of us to become anorexic or obese. Though our teachers did a good job of teaching us kids the facts, some of the parents and adults still don't get it.

Obesity is on the rise in this country. In a New York Times article, it says that in 2011, 35 percent of American adults were obese and by 2014, the number had risen to 38 percent. Soon enough, if the numbers continue to rise, half of America's adults will be obese. A public health professor at New York University stated, “Everybody was hoping that with the decline in sugar and soda consumption, that we’d start seeing a leveling off of adult obesity.” The problem is not soda consumption, it's the inexpensive fast food restaurants and overeating. The number of families who turn to fast food for dinner because they are unable to afford a decent meal is devastating.

You might wonder, how do people let themselves get to the point of obesity? The answer to that is their habits. Changing habits can be hard and if someone does not have enough motivation to do something about it, it won't be an urgent matter for them. Research says that it takes 21 days to form a habit, which is a long time considering it only takes one or two days of slacking off to completely fall off track.

This is why it is important to continue teaching children to develop healthy eating and exercise habits so that it can just become part of their daily routines and they won't think twice about choosing fruit over chips. If kids eat healthy from a young age, it will not be hard for them to stay healthy as they get older. It is also important to put children in sports or something outside of school that requires physical activity so as they get older, that can just translate into going to the gym a few times a week.

Of course, we all enjoy junk food from time to time but it should not become part of our regular diets. In the past few years, we have seen First Lady Michelle Obama taking a stand against childhood obesity. She always promotes healthy eating and exercising and because of her, many children have done so.

It is important to love yourself and your body no matter what, but it is also important to take care of yourself to live a healthier and longer life. If you neglect the significance of a healthy lifestyle, you are denying yourself the right to having a better life. I am sure that nobody wants to spend their 30s and 40s going to dietitians to try to lose weight. This is why it is important to get off of the couch and make yourself a healthy meal instead of ordering Chinese food twice a week!