Are You Leading a Healthy Lifestyle?

How much do you really know about leading a healthy lifestyle? The concept seems simple enough, but the ability to implement or put those concepts into action may prove to be more challenging than anyone could have ever imagined. For most of us, leading a healthy lifestyle is just outside of our reach. We tell ourselves that we will start that walking routine tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes. We reach for candy or chips when we want a snack instead of a piece of fruit, carrot or celery stick.

Yes, the media plays a role in the way we are conditioned to eat, not only in this country (USA), but increasingly more and more countries across the globe. When I think of the media and advertising by the food and drug companies, I can't help but draw similarities to a religious quote I heard many years ago. "Satan's (the devil) greatest power or trick is getting people to believe that he doesn't exist." Now I am not very religious and I can't tell you exactly where I heard that, but it does strike me curious with that quote and the way companies advertise to us.

Here is the most direct correlation. Consider, for arguments sake, that there is a Devil. Now, with the way food and drug companies advertise to us, everything is so glorified that absolutely no inherent dangers are revealed and the ones that are (usually by drug ads), it is minimized so much that we have automatically tuned out that which is not immediately appealing to our auditory and visual senses. Thus, they (the health risks) literally do not exist in our mind's eye. In fact, most of us do not even become aware or understand what leading a healthy lifestyle truly is, until we reach a middle age of 35 to 40 years old, based on a life expectancy of 70 to 80 years old.

The problem with this late epiphany in life, is that by the time we realize we need to do something, we are usually so inundated with what are considered to be age-related ailments and disease. Things like, achy joints, poor eyesight, memory lapses, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. We realize something needs to be done, but are now daunted with the dubious task of playing catch up with our health. For most, giving up and letting the chips fall where they may is all too common place. A healthy lifestyle has now moved from within our grasps. Consider the following article.

Study Finds Just 3% in US Meet Healthy Lifestyle Standard
April 25, 2005

By Jennifer Corbett Dooren

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Only 3% of Americans lead a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and eating five or more fruits and vegetables daily, according to new research released Monday.

The study, led by a researcher at Michigan State University, measured four factors that are considered indicators of a "healthy" lifestyle that, if followed would sharply cut the risk for developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. It's believed to be the first study that has looked broadly at the U.S. population to measure various healthy lifestyle characteristics. The study is being published in the Monday's edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers found that 76% of Americans don't smoke and that 40.1% maintain a healthy weight. But only 23.3% eat the minimum recommended amount of five daily servings of fruits and vegetables and 22.2% exercise for at least 30 minutes five times a week. Taken together, only 3% of Americans hit all four indicators of a healthy lifestyle. Another 13.8% hit three of the four indicators and 34.2% had two of the four indicators.

Mathew J. Reeves, the lead researcher and an epidemiologist at Michigan State, said he was "shocked" by the results, which were compiled using survey data of more than 150,000 Americans by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's pretty remarkable," he said. "It's really just a basic lifestyle pattern. We aren't asking anyone to climb Mount Everest here."

Reeves said he would have expected to find that up to 15% of Americans were hitting all four healthy lifestyle points, which he refers to as the "healthy lifestyle index." He said alcohol consumption was left out of the study because there isn't widespread agreement in the public health arena over its health risks and benefits.

He explained that not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables have been shown in multiple studies to reduce risks for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

"We'd have a different country in terms of health and finances," he said, if more Americans lived a healthy lifestyle, adding that the U.S. spends about $1.5 trillion annually in health-care costs.

The study looked at various demographic groups and found that those with higher incomes and a college education did slightly better. Overall, 4.2% of women hit the four healthy lifestyle indicators, while only 1.9% of men did so. Among households with incomes of $75,000 or more annually, 5.1% of people led a healthy lifestyle, while 5.0% of college graduates achieved that distinction. The study showed that 1.9% of high school graduates reported living a healthy lifestyle, compared with 3.2% of people who reported some college education.

Among age, people ages 35 to 44 faired the worst, with 2.5% reporting that they hit all four healthy lifestyle indicators; while those aged 65 and older did the best, with 4.0% saying they led a healthy lifestyle. By race, 3.3% of white non-Hispanics reported meeting the four healthy lifestyle factors, compared with 1.4% of black non-Hispanics and 2.3% of Hispanics.

Regaining our health, is a daunting task its true, but it need not be. Consider the fact that ants can clean a dead animal's carcass in a matter of hours or days, depending on the size of the animal. At first glance the ants seem to be just too impossibly small to accomplish such a task, but when you look at the process below the surface, you can see that not only are the ants more than capable, but more importantly, they work consistently and they only work with manageable, smaller tasks. The ants only move what they can carry. As the ants continue the process over and over, the dead animal eventually disappears. The sum of all the ants' efforts has helped them to achieve their goal. So it is the same with leading a healthy lifestyle.

Start off small and be consistent. Only do what you can comfortably handle, but do take action. Then as your body becomes more accustomed to your current efforts, increase your tasks. Continuing on this path will eventually get you to your end game, leading a healthy lifestyle.

* For more information on learning to make lifestyle changes, leading a healthy lifestyle, or learning to teach others about living better longer, feel free to contact me.