Definition of Physical Fitness

Physical fitness has been defined as a set of attributes or characteristics that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity. A Report of the Surgeon General is the most common currently used definition of physical fitness. It was originally used by Caspersen and has been used extensively.

While either is a good definition, most experts agree that physical fitness is both multidimensional and hierarchical.
In previous years, fitness was commonly defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue.

Obesity Defined

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. People are considered as obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of the person’s height in metres, exceeds 30 kg/m2.
Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, osteoarthritis and asthma. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food energy intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited; on average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass.

Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century.

Dieting and physical exercise are the mainstays of treatment for obesity. Diet quality can be improved by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods such as those high in fat and sugars, and by increasing the intake of dietary fiber. Anti-obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption together with a suitable diet. If diet, exercise and medication are not effective, a gastric balloon may assist with weight loss, or surgery may be performed to reduce stomach volume and/or bowel length, leading to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.

Obesity is stigmatized in much of the modern world (particularly in the Western world), though it was widely perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in history, and still is in some parts of the world.

The Human Diet (nutrition)

A selection of foods consumed by humans; note that the human diet can vary widely.
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons (with the two often being related). Although humans are omnivores, each culture and each person holds some food preferences or some food taboos, due to personal tastes or ethical reasons. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy.
Proper nutrition requires ingestion and absorption of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and food energy in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, vegetable oils, and fats. Dietary habits and choices play a significant role in quality of life, health and longevity, and can define cultures and play a role in religion.

What is Weight management?

A particular diet may be chosen to seek weight loss or weight gain. Changing a subject’s dietary intake, or “going on a diet”, can change the energy balance and increase or decrease the amount of fat stored by the body. Some foods are specifically recommended, or even altered, for conformity to the requirements of a particular diet. These diets are often recommended in conjunction with exercise. Specific weight loss programs can be harmful to health, while others may be beneficial (and can thus be coined as healthy diets). The terms “healthy diet” and “diet for weight management” are often related, as the two promote healthy weight management. Having a healthy diet is a way to prevent health problems, and will provide your body with the right balance of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Food Industry

How big is the food industury anyway?

P

Processed food sales worldwide are approximately US$3.2 trillion .
In the U.S., consumers spend approximately US$1 trillion annually on food, or nearly 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Over 16.5 million people are employed in the food industry. In the United Kingdom, the food industry is extensive. It employs well over half a million people and has a turnover in excess of £70bn. It is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK and represents around 15% of the total manufacturing sector in the UK. Around 13% of the people working in manufacturing in the UK work in the food and drink industry.

How is food processed?

Food processing is the methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for human consumption. Food processing takes clean, harvested or slaughtered and butchered components and uses them to produce marketable food products. There are several different ways in which food can be produced.

One Off Production – This method is used when customers make an order for something to be made to their own specifications, for example a wedding cake. The making of One Off Products could take days depending on how intricate the design is and also the ability of the chef making the product.

Batch Production -This method is used when the size of the market for a product is not clear, and where there is a range within a product line. A certain number of the same goods will be produced to make up a batch or run, for example at Gregg’s Bakery they will bake a certain number of chicken bakes. This method involves estimating the number of customers that will want to buy that product.

Mass production – This method is used when there is a mass market for a large number of identical products, for example, chocolate bars, ready meals and canned food. The product passes from one stage of production to another along a production line.

Just In Time – This method of production is mainly used in sandwich bars such as Subway. All the components of the product are there and the customer chooses what they want in their product and it is made for them fresh in front of them.

Food industry technologies

Sophisticated technologies define modern food production. They include many areas. Agricultural machinery, originally led by the tractor, has practically eliminated human labor in many areas of production. Biotechnology is driving much change, in areas as diverse as agrochemicals, plant breeding and food processing. Many other areas of technology are also involved, to the point where it is hard to find an area that does not have a direct impact on the food industry. Computer technology is also a central force, with computer networks and specialized software providing the support infrastructure to allow global movement of the myriad components involved.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia