Most Americans seem to be failing this test. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina lead by Dr. Dana E. King completed a study that compared American lifestyle today with that of 18 years ago. Data from individuals between 40 and 74 years of age was gathered and results show that most participants received a C- for healthy living.
1. Obesity among the participants increased from 28 to 36 percent
2. Those who exercised 12 times a month decreased from 53 to 43 percent
4. Smoking rates hardly moved changing from 26.9 to 26.1 percent
5. Drinking moderately changed from 40 to 51 percent
Dr. King's links the results consistently with the increase in diabetes and high blood pressure since these conditions are related to lack of healthy lifestyle and the epidemic of chronic health problems.
As a wellness coach, I know that it is never too late to change and living a healthy lifestyle can produce profound effects on overall health and life span, not to mention BIG savings in the healthcare system!
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The report appears on the June issue of the American Journal of Medicine. I have a subscription and I am not sure everyone can access it, but here it is: http://www.amjmed.com/content/collections
Preliminary report showed in the NIH website
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_84812.html
June 1, 2009 - 10:23pmThis Comment
Coach Virginia,
Do you have a link to the study? I would love to read how they measured their variables. For instance "drinking...changed from 40 to 51 percent". Is this binge drinking, drinking daily, number of drinks per week? Unlike smoking, drinking can be done in a healthy manner (unless contraindicated for an addiction or health condition, of course), and I assume they are referring to unhealthy drinking habits...I'm just curious!
May 31, 2009 - 12:30pmThis Comment
This is really good information although I don't follow all the rules. The smoking information really caught me off guard. Thanks for the share.
May 30, 2009 - 9:10amThis Comment