Nutrition

Post-Pandemic Nutrition 

During the pandemic, quarantine and other lifestyle adjustments may have disrupted healthy eating habits and exercise routines. The pandemic also exacerbated the effects of living in food deserts that lack access to affordable foods such as fresh produce.  

If you’ve struggled to get your health back on track, you’re not alone. It’s never too late to prioritize your health and well-being through daily choices you can make regarding nutrition. 

Now it’s time to reverse the trend and lose those unnecessary pounds. Get started this month during healthy eating month.

Why eat healthy?

  • To lower your health risks. Choosing healthier foods can help you lower your risk for chronic health conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
  • To stay strong and active. Healthy foods have the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body needs to stay strong and live a longer life.
  • To manage your weight. A healthy diet and physical activity can help you stay at a healthy weight.
  • To set a positive example. If you have children, the healthy food options your child sees you make now can impact their eating patterns throughout their lifetime.
  • To save money. When a person eats healthy and lives a healthy lifestyle, he or she is less likely to develop costly chronic illnesses in life. A healthy lifestyle can help you avoid spending thousands of dollars on doctors’ visits and medications later in life.
  • To improve mood and mental health. What you eat has a direct impact on your brain which regulates your mood. Also, eating healthy foods can help to keep your mind from feeling foggy and distracted.
  • To help improve your quality of sleep. People who avoid large amounts of caffeine and foods high in sugar and fat are more likely to have higher quality sleep.

Nutrition Facts

  • More than 1 in 3 of adults and nearly 1 in 5 children or adolescents are obese. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, which are among the leading causes of illness and death.
  • Fewer than 1 in 3 adults get the recommended amount of vegetables each day.
  • Approximately 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet.
  • More than 23 million Americans — including 6.5 million children — live in food deserts. Food deserts are neighborhoods, cities, or towns that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet.
  • Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.

*Harvard Health Publishing. 2016. Healthy Eating: A guide to the new nutrition today.