I’m not talking about your financial status here, but rather your fitness level. In a recent study, researchers measured four health behaviors from more than 4,700 Americans and concluded that less than 3 percent passed the full test (2.7 percent to be exact).
Principles of Healthy Living
Looking for lifestyle standards that would lead to chronic disease prevention, the researchers honed in on these four behaviors:
• good diet
• moderate exercise
• no smoking
• healthy percentage of body fat
97.3 percent of American adults included in the study failed to meet all four of these measurements. The behavior achieved by the majority of adults (71 percent) was no smoking. 46 percent received the appropriate level of exercise, 38 percent ate a healthy diet and only 10 percent had normal body fat.
The data was taken from the 2003-2006 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey (NHANES), the most recent cycle for which all the required information was available. NHANES, started in the 1960s, is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of Americans.
Want to Rise Above?
Because the data from which the conclusions of this study were based are 10 – 15 years old, I believe a similar study using current information would not look as bleak. But if you know your current lifestyle choices keep you out of the top 3 percent, and feel motivated to move to a higher level of fitness, here are suggestions that will improve your scores:
Diet: Eat a variety of vegetables (all colors); concentrate on whole fruits and whole grains; consume low-fat and fat-free dairy products; eat a variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products; enjoy healthy oils; limit saturated fats, added sugar and sodium; and consume alcohol in moderation (up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men).
Exercise: Find a physical activity you enjoy and participate in it on most days; aim for 150 minute of exercise per week. Examples of moderate-to-vigorous activities include: brisk walking, heavy house cleaning (window washing, vacuuming, mopping), lawn mowing (power mower), bicycling, badminton and tennis, hiking, jogging and shoveling.
Smoking: Don’t start; stop if you do smoke.
Body fat: For a quick estimate of your percent body fat, visit your local gym and ask the staff to measure it. This will give you a ballpark figure. To decrease body fat, participate in strength/resistance training twice weekly and consume a healthy diet with adequate amounts of protein. (Researchers in this study used the following criteria for healthy body fat levels: 5% – 20% for men, 8% – 30% for women.)
NOTE: And if you are ready to FINALLY SEIZE CONTROL of your FITNESS and want to speak with me in an unbiased format, take advantage of my FREE CALL. I promise to give you a few tips and things to look at immediately plus we can discuss if any of my programs or classes are a good fit for you too.
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