We do love our bad health habits
http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/3614/1/We-do-love-our-bad-health-habits/Page1.html
News Services
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By News Services
Published on 06/12/2009
An article in the June issue of The American Journal of Medicine
reveals that not only do few American adults follow healthy lifestyle
choices, their numbers are declining. If you follow all five healthy
habits -- moderate exercise, five fruits and vegetables a day, weight
control, no smoking, moderate alcohol -- you're a rare breed: Only
eight percent of U.S. adults ages 40-74 do so.
An article in the June issue of The American Journal of Medicine
reveals that not only do few American adults follow healthy lifestyle
choices, their numbers are declining. If you follow all five healthy
habits -- moderate exercise, five fruits and vegetables a day, weight
control, no smoking, moderate alcohol -- you're a rare breed: Only
eight percent of U.S. adults ages 40-74 do so.The St. Petersburg Times / Personal Best
After decades of public health campaigns, media articles, motherly wisdom, doctors' advice and plain old common sense, it's hardly news that healthy living is good for us.
Particularly if we want to avoid killers such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
Knowledge, however, apparently doesn't equal action.
An article in the June issue of The American Journal of Medicine reveals that not only do few American adults follow healthy lifestyle choices, their numbers are declining.
If you follow all five healthy habits -- moderate exercise, five fruits and vegetables a day, weight control, no smoking, moderate alcohol -- you're a rare breed: Only eight percent of U.S. adults ages 40-74 do so.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston examined two large-scale studies of the U.S. population conducted regularly by the National Center for Health Statistics, the first covering 1988-1994 and the second covering 2001-2006.
Here's what happened between those two periods:
* We got fatter: The percentage of adults aged 40-74 years with a body mass index greater than 30 (the definition of obesity) increased from 28% to 36%.
* We moved less: Adults aged 40-74 who got some kind of physical activity 12 times a month or more decreased from 53% to 43%
* We're not kicking the habit: Smoking rates have not changed appreciably (26.9% to 26.1%).
* Only 26 percent of adults ate the recommended 5 fruits and vegetables a day in 2001-2006, compared with 42 percent in the earlier period.
* Moderate alcohol use increased from 40% to 51%.
* BOTTOM LINE: Only 8 percent of American adults ages 40-74 follow all five healthy habits.
Way back in 1988-94, 15 percent managed to do so.
Study co-author Dr. Dana E. King says healthy living definitely is worth the effort: “In the U.S., medical costs due to physical inactivity and its consequences are estimated at $76 billion in 2000 dollars,'' King wrote.
"Research indicates that individuals are capable of adopting healthy habits in middle age, and making an impact on cardiovascular risk.”
What do you think? Is healthy living not worth the effort? Are bad old habits too hard (and fun) to break? Is it just unreasonable to hit all five markers of a healthy lifestyle -- and live your life, too?
Charlotte Sutton, health and medicine editor
~~~~~
Image from book: High Society: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It, by Joseph A. Califano (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University)
After decades of public health campaigns, media articles, motherly wisdom, doctors' advice and plain old common sense, it's hardly news that healthy living is good for us.
Particularly if we want to avoid killers such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
Knowledge, however, apparently doesn't equal action.
An article in the June issue of The American Journal of Medicine reveals that not only do few American adults follow healthy lifestyle choices, their numbers are declining.
If you follow all five healthy habits -- moderate exercise, five fruits and vegetables a day, weight control, no smoking, moderate alcohol -- you're a rare breed: Only eight percent of U.S. adults ages 40-74 do so.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston examined two large-scale studies of the U.S. population conducted regularly by the National Center for Health Statistics, the first covering 1988-1994 and the second covering 2001-2006. Here's what happened between those two periods:
* We got fatter: The percentage of adults aged 40-74 years with a body mass index greater than 30 (the definition of obesity) increased from 28% to 36%.
* We moved less: Adults aged 40-74 who got some kind of physical activity 12 times a month or more decreased from 53% to 43%
* We're not kicking the habit: Smoking rates have not changed appreciably (26.9% to 26.1%).
* Only 26 percent of adults ate the recommended 5 fruits and vegetables a day in 2001-2006, compared with 42 percent in the earlier period.
* Moderate alcohol use increased from 40% to 51%.
* BOTTOM LINE: Only 8 percent of American adults ages 40-74 follow all five healthy habits.
Way back in 1988-94, 15 percent managed to do so.
Study co-author Dr. Dana E. King says healthy living definitely is worth the effort: “In the U.S., medical costs due to physical inactivity and its consequences are estimated at $76 billion in 2000 dollars,'' King wrote.
"Research indicates that individuals are capable of adopting healthy habits in middle age, and making an impact on cardiovascular risk.”
What do you think? Is healthy living not worth the effort? Are bad old habits too hard (and fun) to break? Is it just unreasonable to hit all five markers of a healthy lifestyle -- and live your life, too?
Charlotte Sutton, health and medicine editor
~~~~~
Image from book: High Society: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It, by Joseph A. Califano (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University)