Health is a balance of physical, mental and social well being in a person. In this article we are going to concentrate on physical health which is only one column that sustains our general health.
Every one of us strives towards an optimum health condition. However, most of us don’t really do anything about it. The Quran has many verses that urge us to be modest, to not consume in excess, to reflect in God’s bounties, but yet we are mindless, and keep on our excessive ways.

7 :31 “O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters.”

13:4 And in the earth are tracts (diverse though) neighboring, and gardens of vines and fields sown with corn, and palm trees - growing out of single roots or otherwise: watered with the same water, yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Behold, verily in these things there are signs for those who understand!

20:81 “eat of the good things We have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein, lest My Wrath should justly descend on you: and those on whom descends My Wrath do perish indeed!

“And don’t make your hand to be shackled to your neck nor stretch it forth to the utmost (limit) of its stretching forth, lest you should (afterwards) sit down blamed, stripped off.” (17:29)

The Quran mentions a variety of foods by name or by kind; these foods have been scientifically proven to provide the human body with great benefits. There is more information available about that in the Godly foods section. One main theme that the Quran stresses is not to consume or do anything in excess. The prophet also has emphasized moderation in prayer, in eating, and in life in general.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately. . .Always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course, whereby you will reach your target (of paradise)." - Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 470

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The good deeds of any person will not make him enter Paradise (i.e., no one enters paradise only through his good deeds)." The Prophet's companions asked: "Not even you?" The Prophet replied: "Not even myself, unless God bestows His favor and mercy on me. So be moderate in your religious deeds and do what is within your ability. None of you should wish for death, for if he is a doer of good, he may increase his good deeds, and if he is an evil doer, he may repent to God." - Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 577

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once asked a companion: "(Is it true) that you fast all day and stand in prayer all night?" The companion replied that the report was indeed true. The Prophet then said: "Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave (it) at other times. Stand up for prayer at night and also sleep at night. Your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you and your wife has a right over you." - Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 127

The Prophet also said that: "The son of Adam never fills a vessel worse than his stomach. The son of Adam only needs a few bites that would sustain him, but if he insists, one third should be reserved for his food, another third for his drink and the last third for his breathing."  Narrated by Imam Ahmed.

These were just some verses and Hadiths among many that urge us to conduct our lives in moderation. Since we are on the topic of health and physical health, in particular, we need to incorporate those advices in how we conduct ourselves.
Food is a bounty when it is used in moderation; this is really easy to say and very hard to act upon. We usually get weak when we are hungry to a point that when we sit down for a meal, we eat so much in order to suppress hunger and not to feel weak anymore.
We can’t stop in the presence of food, it’s enticing, it’s there, it’s inviting. But that’s not the whole story, when we eat too much, our stomach expands, it sets us for more excess, we become stagnant, our body stores the excess as fat, and the chain reaction continues. This is a very unscientific way to talk about weight gain; however it’s gleaned from real life experiences. The formula is really simple, and doesn’t need to be as flashy as the modern weight loss diets fads are making it to be.

Moderation formula: Food intake – energy needed by body = Fat.

Every increase in body movement will equally increase the body’s need for energy.

So if we apply the law of energy to our moderation formula, we will actually either decrease the resulting Fat, or make the result 0.
But what will get us from the couch to actually go out and increase our energy exertion? What would be the incentive? Surely, the incentive is not to have a healthy body, because it has not been working, since we kept feeding it in excess disregarding the increase in our size and discomfort. It’s not working, since we combated health problems with pacifiers in the form of pills or more consumption. Therefore, we really need to come up with a true incentive that will lift us from our state of mind to a different state where we gradually can enjoy eating in moderation and exerting energy.
I can suggest some incentives, one of them is to be a better Muslim, as the Prophet (PBUH) said:

 “A strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than a weak one, and in each one of them there is good.” (Reported by Muslim). He also added that: 'Your body has rights over you.'(Reported by Al-Bukhari)

You can also start changing your ways for someone, for example, for your children, your wife, or your husband. You want to make yourself a good example for your children to follow. By either jogging every morning, playing sports on the weekend, or going for a bike ride. Anything that will make your limbs move, gives you good health and inspire your family to follow your foot steps is a favorable thing to do.
So the incentive is really important in our health formula. If obtaining a better health for ourselves is not enough of an incentive as evidenced by our excessive ways, we ought to search deep within or outside for a reason to be healthy. I think obeying God comes first, and can be enhanced with other worldly causes.
There is more to this discussion, so more articles will follow on this subject, and we urge our readers to post their experiences in the health forum, so we can all help each other be healthy, and become good Muslims and good human beings.