US healthy lifestyle data

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Hi All,

The latest information on how frequently Americans are following healthy

lifestyles has been documented in a pdf-available article.

See the review and abstract that are not yet in Medline below.

Arch Intern Med. 2005 Apr 11;165(8):

Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics Among Adults in the United States, 2000

The mounting clinical and epidemiological evidence of the benefits of following

a

healthy lifestyle are indisputable. We defined a healthy lifestyle as following

a

combination of the following 4 healthy lifestyle characteristics: nonsmoking,

healthy weight (18.5 body mass index < 25 [calculated as weight in kilograms

divided by the square of height in meters]), consuming 5 fruit and vegetable

servings per day, and regular physical activity (30 minutes, 5 times per week).

Using national data from more than 153 000 adults, the overall prevalence of

following these 4 healthy lifestyle characteristics was only 3.0% (95%

confidence

interval, 2.8%-3.2%), with very little variation among subgroups (range,

0.8%-5.7%).

These data illustrate that a healthy lifestyle is undertaken by a tiny fraction

of

adults in the United States and that no subgroup followed this combination to a

level even remotely consistent with current clinical or public health

recommendations.

(SEE ARTICLE)

Arch Intern Med. 2005 Apr 11;165(8):854-857.

Healthy Lifestyle Characteristics Among Adults in the United States, 2000

Mathew J. Reeves; Ann P. Rafferty

Background Many public health recommendations and clinical guidelines

emphasize

the importance of healthy lifestyles. Recent epidemiologic studies demonstrate

that

following a healthy lifestyle has substantial health benefits. The objectives of

this study were to report on the prevalence of healthy lifestyle characteristics

(HLCs) and to generate a single indicator of a healthy lifestyle.

Methods National data for the year 2000 were obtained from the Behavioral Risk

Factor Surveillance System, which consists of annual, statewide, random

digit–dialed

household telephone surveys. We defined the following 4 HLCs: nonsmoking,

healthy

weight (body mass index [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square

of

height in meters] of 18.5-25.0), consuming 5 or more fruits and vegetables per

day,

and regular physical activity (30 minutes for 5 times per week). The 4 HLCs were

summed to create a healthy lifestyle index (range, 0-4), and the pattern of

following all 4 HLCs was defined as a single healthy lifestyle indicator. We

report

prevalences of each HLC and the indicator by major demographic subgroups.

Results By using data from more than 153 000 adults, the prevalence (95%

confidence

interval) of the individual HLCs was as follows: nonsmoking, 76.0%

(75.6%-76.4%);

healthy weight, 40.1% (39.7%-40.5%); 5 fruits and vegetables per day, 23.3%

(22.9%-23.7%); and regular physical activity, 22.2% (21.8%-22.6%). The overall

prevalence of the healthy lifestyle indicator (ie, having all 4 HLCs) was only

3.0%

(95% confidence interval, 2.8%-3.2%), with little variation among subgroups

(range,

0.8%-5.7%).

Conclusion These data illustrate that a healthy lifestyle—defined as a

combination

of 4 HLCs—was undertaken by very few adults in the United States, and that no

subgroup followed this combination to a level remotely consistent with clinical

or

public health recommendations.

Al Pater, PhD; email: old542000@...

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