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American's Health Habits: Worse Than Ever
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It appears that we’re failing in our attempt to turn this country fit, according to sad new statistics out of the Medical University of South Carolina, which show that even fewer of us are adhering to a healthy lifestyle when compared to life habits from two decades ago.
The number of people exercising 12 times a month or more, not smoking, eating five or more fruits and vegetables daily, imbibing alcohol moderately and maintaining a healthy weight has decreased from 15 percent to 8 percent between the periods of 1988-1994 and 2001-2006. The results come from a comparison of two large-scale government studies of the U.S. population.
More details:
- In the intervening years, the percentage of adults aged 40-74 years with a body mass index greater than 30 has increased from 28 percent to 36 percent.
- Physical activity 12 times a month or more has decreased from 53 percent to 43 percent.
- Eating five or more fruits and vegetables a day has decreased from 42 percent to 26 percent. Smoking rates have increased slightly (26.9 percent to 26.1 percent).
- Moderate alcohol use has increased from 40 percent to 51 percent.
What’s worse, the researchers also concluded that people with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or risk factors for those conditions, were no more likely to stick to a healthy lifestyle than healthy Americans.
The take-home: If you're in the 8 percent of Americans maintaining healthy habits, keep up the great work. And if you see your family members and friends losing their fight with fat, give them support. We all need it.
About The Author
David Schipper – David began writing for CorePerformance.com in 2008, after spending six years at Men's Health magazine digging up the newest scientific research in health, weight loss, nutrition, muscle and cardiovascular fitness.
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