By making the decision to learn about the health and fitness industry, you have proved to yourself you care about health.  You may go on to be a fitness coach or work in the health industry where you offer others advice, guidelines and make positive suggestions to improve their health, you must fully acknowledge that individual people are the only ones who are responsible for their own state of health.  

Of course, everyone is free to make lifestyle choices which affect their health.  For example, if someone chooses to smoke, they choose to damage their heart, arteries and lungs (there are extensive areas of damage throughout the body as a result of cigarette smoking, but these are the major organs affected), whereas if someone makes the decision to not smoke they are managing their state of health in whichever way they can – avoiding risk.  

Ways in which a person can manage their state of health through lifestyle choices are outlined below:

1. Consume a nutritionally ‘balanced’ diet.  Everything consumed by humans should contain molecular components which are required by the body for cellular and/or tissue function.  
2. Drink water!  The human body is made up of approximately 55-60% pure water and this needs replaced to maintain optimum functioning and overall health.
3. Participate in regular exercise – aerobic, stretching and resistance forms.  
4. Rest and relax. A regular pattern of sleeping and relaxation should be undertaken.  This allows the body to restore and repair, and mental stresses to be analysed and dealt with.  
5. Prevent disease through personal hygiene and good habits e.g. use ‘barrier’ contraceptives to prevent sexually transmitted infections.  
6. Positive thinking and a positive mental attitude create calmness, confidence and security which help you feel able to cope with life stresses better and therefore eliminate potential damage to the body.  
7. Breathe in fresh air and enjoy sunshine as oxygen is essential for life and body functioning and the internal production of Vitamin D from sunlight exposure encourages the uptake of essential minerals from food, among other things.