Following A Healthy Lifestyle Is On Decline In U.S.
- From: rpautrey2 <rpautrey2@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 30 May 2009 03:05:25 -0700 (PDT)
Following A Healthy Lifestyle Is On Decline In U.S.
ScienceDaily (May 28, 2009) — Despite the well-known benefits of
having a lifestyle that includes physical activity, eating a diet high
in fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, moderate
alcohol use and not smoking, only a small proportion of adults follow
this healthy lifestyle pattern, and in fact, the numbers are
declining, according to an article published in the June 2009 issue of
The American Journal of Medicine.
Lifestyle choices are associated with the risk of cardiovascular
disease as well as diabetes.
Investigators from the Department of Family Medicine, Medical
University of South Carolina, Charleston compared the results of two
large-scale studies of the US population in 1988-1994 and in
2001-2006. In the intervening 18 years, the percentage of adults aged
40-74 years with a body mass index greater than 30 has increased from
28% to 36%; physical activity 12 times a month or more has decreased
from 53% to 43%; smoking rates have not changed (26.9% to 26.1%);
eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables a day has decreased from 42% to
26%; and moderate alcohol use has increased from 40% to 51%. The
number of people adhering to all 5 healthy habits has decreased from
15% to 8%.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a
national survey of non-institutionalized persons in the US conducted
regularly by the National Center for Health Statistics. The
researchers used data from a sub sample of the NHANES surveys of
1988-1994 and 2001-2006, adults aged 40-74 years, because this age
span is the primary time for initial diagnosis of cardiovascular risk
factors and disease. In the NHANES 1988-1994, the number of
respondents 40-74 years old was 7340, representing a weighted sample
size of 78,794,217. For NHANES 2001-2006, the number of respondents
was 7811, for a weighted sample size of 65,476,573.
Since people with diagnosed health conditions such as cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol were part of the
samples, the researchers sought to determine whether such individuals
were adhering to the healthy habits to a greater or lesser degree than
people without those conditions, and whether adherence had changed
over time. The study also concluded that people with cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, or risk
factors for those conditions, were no more likely to adhere to a
healthy lifestyle pattern than people without such risk factors.
Writing in the article, Dana E. King, MD, MS, states, "The potential
public health benefits from promoting a healthier lifestyle at all
ages, and especially ages 40-74 years, are substantial. Regular
physical activity and a prudent diet can reduce the risk of premature
death and disability from a variety of conditions including coronary
heart disease, and are strongly related to the incidence of obesity.
In the US, medical costs due to physical inactivity and its
consequences are estimated at $76 billion in 2000 dollars. Research
indicates that individuals are capable of adopting healthy habits in
middle age, and making an impact on cardiovascular risk."
The article is "Adherence to Healthy Lifestyle Habits in US Adults,
1988-2006" by Dana E. King, MD, MS, Arch G. Mainous III, PhD, Mark
Carnemolla, BS, and Charles J. Everett, PhD". It appears in The
American Journal of Medicine, Volume 122, Issue 6 (June 2009)
published by Elsevier.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adapted from materials provided by Elsevier Health Sciences, via
EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090527072817.htm
.
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