Практическое занятие № 16

Тема: «Здоровье и забота о нем»

Цель: Введение и активизация ЛЕ

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Health

Do you know the famous phrase "We are what we eat"? The saying is as old as the hills and means that to be fit and healthy you need to eat proper food.

Do you think carefully about the food you eat or you just don't care? Your answer will fully determine your health condition. Nowadays we have a generally accepted pearl of beauty which is foisted on us by the fashion industry. A beautiful girl is suggested to be very slim and even skinny, tall, long legged and long armed. Many girls do their best to look like top-models whom they see every day on advertisement boardings and on TV. But this glossy beauty, which in most cases is made in special computer programmes, conceals a huge problem, sometimes a mortal problem.

Compared with adults, children need more nutrients, as bones, muscles and blood system in their bodies are developing. These nutrients: carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, protein and fat provide us with energy necessary for growth, tissue repair, immunity and metabolism. Nowadays there is a tendency among teenagers to follow different diets in order to be in line with their idols. Unfortunately, a passion for diets may turn out a real tragedy. It is very important to keep in mind that you mustn't go on a diet without consulting a dietician beforehand; otherwise it may be really dangerous for your health.

There are girls who try to keep a healthy diet, it may be vegetarian, dairy product or rice diet. However, there are also girls who are sure that the less they eat the healthier they are. And that's a great mistake. When preoccupation with being thin takes over your eating habits, thoughts, and life, it's a sign of a psychic disorder. An eating disorder is an illness which causes deep concern about your everyday diet. Eating disorders frequently appear during the teen years. One of the well-known types of eating disorder is anorexia.

When a person has anorexia, the desire to lose weight becomes more important than anything else. He may even lose the ability to see himself from the side. Because of a person's dread of growing fat or disgust at the sight of his body, the eating process may be very stressful. Thoughts about dieting, food, and body may take up most of the day. There is no more time for friends, family, and other activities he or she used to enjoy. But no matter how thin a person grew, it's never enough. People suffering from anorexia never acknowledge the illness, but it can damage their health and even threaten their life.

So, what is the difference between healthy dieting and anorexia? First of all, healthy dieting is an attempt to control only weight, but anorexia is an attempt to control the whole life and emotions. Secondly, when dieting a person's self-esteem is based on good mood and improving his or her appearance; as for anorexia, it is based entirely on the fact how many kilogrammes you've managed to lose. Thirdly, the aim of losing weight while dieting is to improve a person's health and appearance, whereas for people having anorexia losing weight is the way to achieve happiness.

Anorexia is a very complicated disease and very difficult to cure as it involves not only body but also one's mind. To recover from anorexia a person has to realize that he has a problem. Only in this case it is possible to get over it. Besides anorexia, there are similar diseases caused by lack of eating, for example, bulimia.

There is also another illness connected with eating disorder — obesity. A person with such a problem loses control over his or her eating. The notion "obesity" is different from "being overweight", though both terms mean that a person's weight is greater than the standard corresponding to his or her height. Obesity occurs when a person eats more calories than he or she uses. Being obese increases the risk of diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis and some kinds of cancer. If one is obese, losing even 5 to 10 per cent of one's weight can delay or prevent some of these diseases.

As you probably know, this problem is quite widespread in the USA. Over the last several decades obesity rates have increased for all population groups in the United States. Approximately nine million children over six years of age are considered obese. From 1980 up to 2008, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years old tripled from 6.5 per cent to 19.6 per cent. It happens not only because Americans are fond of junk food and eat nothing but hamburgers. The main problem comes from genetics. American people try to cope with obesity by banning sodas, junk food and candy at school districts.

I hope that having read this topic, you have learned something useful for yourself. Nothing can be more important in the world than your health. It means that your body is your temple, which should be taken proper care of. I can give you an example of such care. A sensible, well-balanced diet will be a good beginning for keeping fit.

Moreover, you may devote about 30 minutes to physical activities 3—4 times a week just to improve your style of life. These may be some aerobic exercises, walking, cycling, jogging, swimming or dancing. Healthy way of life is a key to success.

Vocabulary:
saying — высказывание
as old as the hills — старо как мир
proper — правильный
to determine — определять
health condition — состояние здоровья
metabolism — обмен веществ
generally accepted — общепринятый
pearl of beauty — эталон красоты
to foist — навязывать
fashion industry — индустрия моды
slim — тонкий, стройный
skinny — тощий, костлявый
advertisement hoarding — рекламный щит
glossy — глянцевый
to conceal — скрывать
mortal — смертельный
nutrient — питательное вещество
to develop — развивать
carbohydrate — углевод
protein — белок
fat — жир
to provide — обеспечивать
tissue repair — восстановление тканей
immunity — иммунитет
to be in line with — следовать
idol — кумир
passion for — страстное увлечение, пристрастие
to turn out — оказываться
dietitian — врач-диетолог
preoccupation — поглощённость, увлечённость
eating disorder — нарушение питания
concern — обеспокоенность, тревога
dread — страх
disgust — отвращение
to damage — уничтожать
attempt — попытка
self-esteem — чувство собственного достоинства
to improve — улучшать
appearance — внешность
entirely — всецело, полностью
to cure — лечить
to involve — включать, вовлекать
to recover — вылечиваться
to get over — преодолеть
obesity — ожирение
overweight — излишний вес
to occur — появляться
diabetes — диабет
arthritis — артрит
cancer — рак
to delay — замедлять, задерживать
to prevent — предотвращать
to be widespread — быть распространённым
approximately — приблизительно
prevalence — распространение
to triple — утраиваться
junk food — вредная еда
to cope with — справляться с
to ban — запрещать
soda — здесь: газировка
temple — храм
proper — должный, правильный
sensible — разумный
jogging — бег трусцой