Lifestyle choices play a major role in our physical, mental and emotional health. Poor lifestyle choices will lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and a suite of other health issues.
Decision processing becomes sluggish as poor health leads to a more sedentary lifestyle. Which will then lead to reduced blood flow to the brain, thus affecting your entire body.
Performance at work, school and in the home becomes mediocre as health issues begin to consume time and finances. Self-esteem and confidence suffer, and affect even otherwise healthy relationships.
Despite the consequences of not living healthy, the number of middle aged adults in America who are obese has risen from 28% to 36% over the last 18 years, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine. The study compared five lifestyle factors of a group of 7,340 middle-aged (40-74 year old) adults from 1988-1994 to a group of 7,811 middle-aged adults from 2001-2006.
5 Healthy Lifestyle Habits
- Physical activity at least 12 times per month
- Consumption of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily
- Maintenance of a healthy weight (BMI between 18.5 and 29.9)
- Moderate alcohol use, if any at all
- Not smoking
What the researchers from Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston found was that there was a 10% drop from the 1998-1994 to the 2001-2006 group in the number of middle-aged persons who undertook physical activity 12 or more times per month, and an 8% increase in obesity for the same group.
Despite the fact that tobacco use increases cancer risk, the percent of the population that smokes did not change in the seven year interval between the groups. Even while “health kicks” are on the rise, the number of people consuming five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day has dropped from 42% to 26%.
Reasons for Unhealthy Lifestyle
Why don’t people adhere to the five healthy principles that could save their lives?
Many of them simply can’t, not because they are financially or physically unable, but more because they are carrying the burden of depression related to their declining health, obesity, stress, dependency on different substances, or lifestyle.
It is stressful to feel like life is moving too fast, so people turn to convenience foods that are packed with sodium, sugar and preservatives, and they make excuses about not having enough time to exercise, and then they drink alcohol to relax.
This too-fast lifestyle is contributing to an unhealthy society, one in which people simply don’t sleep enough. Lack of sleep can contribute to a number of health problems, including depression and obesity. Depression often leads to inactivity and can lead to drug or alcohol abuse. A healthy lifestyle leads to mental well-being, even later in life.
Other reasons for the decline in the number of Americans following a healthy lifestyle are because they feel they just can’t afford it. For example, individuals with lower levels of education (therefore lower paying jobs) have a higher body mass index (BMI) than individuals of higher socioeconomic means. This might be because they are forced to work longer hours for lower pay, or hold more than one job, and therefore don’t have the time or energy to exercise on a regular basis. These same rushed individuals are more likely to depend on fast food or other shortcuts that are detrimental to health.
Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle
Dana King M.D., author of a recent research article about the decline in healthy lifestyle choices in the United States, notes that promoting healthy lifestyle changes is invaluable to reduce the risk of premature death and disability, coronary heart disease, and obesity.
She estimates that medical costs related to physical inactivity are about $76 billion. Healthy habits adopted later in life can still make a difference, though. Adopting healthy habits in your 40s and 50s is not too late to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, simply by living better.
While the number of people who practice all five healthy lifestyle factors is on the decline, you can take your own health into your hands today. No matter how old (or young) you are, it’s never too late (or too early) to get healthy. Start by eating healthier foods, like berries, avocados or pomegranates.
May 19th, 2010 at 7:20 am
The definitions surrounding alcohol, alcoholics, alcohol abuse, well, they are extremely open-ended, sometimes can seem very subjective, and at best confusing. No two people really have the same definition or idea about what alcohol abuse really is. Each person experiences alcohol in such a different way. It causes so many different physical, and physiological changes in people, it is hard to set boundaries broad-range and across the board.
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October 10th, 2009 at 9:22 am
You know Australia is now taking over as the most unhealthiest of the lot! Great huh? You would think we would learn from the bad eating habits in the USA, but no, we have to be worse!
I think unless governments start doing something about this obesity epidemic, then it will start costing more and more in terms of time off work (to employers), vastly increasing medical costs in hospitals and immeasurable costs to families when people do die young.
This obesity epidemic is perpetuated by the overwhelming amount of very cheap fast food restaurants (and I use that word loosely) that are “conveniently” available everywhere, plus all the junk at schools, at work and at supermarkets, then no wonder everyone finds it hard to make better food choices.
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August 29th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Yes.. i accept.. Healthy lifestyle is declining in US. I was there to complete my MS.. When i landed there, US was different.. this year when i came back i found lots of changes in following healthy lifestyle..
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August 25th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
It seems obvious to me now that most people will not be able to change on their own and, given that the government sees the horrifying health stats, I think it is up to them now and about time, to start putting some serious enforcement in place.
There are so many angles this can be approached from, so many ways to start changing the health of the country, but the point is that something and rather drastic should be done, or else they should not complain about rising health care costs.
Cut fast food advertising and see just how much that changes things…
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August 16th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Great article guys. It’s a similar story in the UK, where we’re officially the ‘unhealthiest’ in Europe. It’s likely most of the readers of this blog are pretty health conscious anyway – it’s the ones that aren’t reading that we need to worry about. I bought a Juicer for a friend’s birthday recently; he’s over-weight, a smoker and doesn’t exercise. He wouldn’t have bought it himself but now he has one, he’s using it everyday and loves making fresh juices and smoothies (so gets all the required nutrients, counters some of the harm caused by cancer and is loosing weight). I’m sure this will gradually nudge him into taking the next steps to re-gaining his health. If anyone has close friends or extended family members who are also oblivious to the need to follow a healthy lifestyle, perhaps the purchase of a basic smoothie maker ($20 Amazon) as a gift, could be just the thing to get them started in turning things around?
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August 14th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Hey Dr. Group.. hope all is well. Saw this news link and thought you should see this. Easter Island seems like a nice place ..
http://www.naturalnews.com/026821_Easter_Island_aging_longevity.html
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