Relatively few Americans adopting healthy lifestyle

By Abigail Mellier, May 5th, 2013 | Lifestyle | 0 Comments

Despite evidence of the potential health benefits, a telephone survey suggests that only three per cent of Americans are pursuing an optimal lifestyle.
The evidence that quitting smoking, having a healthy diet, taking exercise and keeping weight under control can all improve health is now overwhelming. But are people taking these messages on board? To find out, a team at Michigan State University spoke to more than 153,000 adults in 50 states to find out how their lifestyles checked out.

Only three per cent did not smoke, ate healthily, took regular exercise and were a healthy weight. Over three quarters did not smoke, and 40 per cent had a healthy weight. But only a quarter consumed five or more fruits and vegetables a day. And 22 per cent took enough exercise. Clearly Americans could be doing quite a bit more to improve their health through lifestyle change.