A new study found that compared with two decades ago, fewer Americans are following a healthy lifestyle. This is despite the mounting evidence that such a lifestyle is better for health and not following one is linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The authors defined a healthy lifestyle as one of eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, not smoking, keeping to a normal weight, moderately using alcohol, and exercising regularly.

The study was the work of researchers from the Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, and is to be published in the June 2009 issue of the The American Journal of Medicine.

For the study, the researchers used data from two large scale National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) studies of the non-institutionalized US population. One survey covered the period 1988 to 1994 and the other covered 2001 to 2006.

They looked at adults aged 40 to 74 years, because this is the age group where a first diagnosis of cardiovascular risk factors and disease usually arises. For the first period (1988 to 1994) the number in this age group was 7,340 (representing nearly 80 million people). The number for the second period (2001-2006) was 7,811 (representing about 65.5 million people).

The results showed that for this age group, during the 18 years between the two survey periods:

  • The proportion of people with a BMI higher than 30 went up from 28 to 36 per cent.

  • People doing exercise 12 times a month or more went down from 53 to 43 per cent.

  • Smoking rates have not changed much (26.9 down to 26.1 per cent).

  • People eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables a day went down from 42 to 26 per cent.

  • People drinking moderate amounts of alcohol went up from 40 to 51 per cent.

  • Overall, people adhering to all 5 healthy habits has gone down from 15 to 8 per cent of this population group.

  • People with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, or risk factors for these conditions, were no more likely to be following a healthy lifestyle than people without such factors.

First author Dr Dana King said that public health would benefit substantially if people of all ages followed a healthier lifestyle, especially those aged 40 to 74, and that research shows that people are capable of changing their lifestyles in middle age and reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease.

Regular exercise and a prudent, sensible diet can reduce the risk of early disability from a number of causes such as coronary heart disease, and also reduce the risk of becoming obese, she added, explaining that across the US, the cost of medical care “due to physical inactivity and its consequences are estimated at $76 billion in 2000”.

“Adherence to Healthy Lifestyle Habits in US Adults, 1988-2006.”
Dana E. King, Arch G. Mainous III, Mark Carnemolla, and Charles J. Everett.
The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 122, Issue 6 (June 2009).

Additional sources: Elsevier Health Sciences.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD