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Less Than 3 Percent of Americans Live a Healthy Lifestyle
GaleHawkins
Posts: 8,159 Member
health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-03-22/less-than-3-percent-of-americans-live-a-healthy-lifestyle
Could 97% of us really be living an unhealthy lifestyle?
Could 97% of us really be living an unhealthy lifestyle?
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Replies
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That's odd, because only one of those would be able to be checked out by anyone other than the reporting person. You'd think just human nature would have caused a higher percentage. Heck, I could lie about my healthy diet, smoking and amount of exercise. The only one of those four factors that a doctor could legit observe would be the BMI, and even that wasn't the parameter. The parameter was "keeping body fat under control." How do they even measure that?
I call BS.0 -
I wouldn't be surprised0
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It depends upon the criteria that are used. When you set the bar high, few can meet it.
We suddenly had more overweight and obese people when the weight thresholds for those were lowered. People who were at a healthy weight suddenly weren't.0 -
cmriverside wrote: »That's odd, because only one of those would be able to be checked out by anyone other than the reporting person. You'd think just human nature would have caused a higher percentage. Heck, I could lie about my healthy diet, smoking and amount of exercise. The only one of those four factors that a doctor could legit observe would be the BMI, and even that wasn't the parameter. The parameter was "keeping body fat under control." how do they even measure that?
I call BS.
Yup. BS0 -
A healthy diet for the survey is based on this rubric:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/healthy_eating_index/healthyeatingindex2005factsheet.pdf
Getting 50% or more of calories from solid fats, i.e., meats and saturated fats, is worth 0 points.
No grains is 0 points.
No fruit is worth 0 points.
Saturated fats above 15% of calories is worth 0 points.0 -
"10 percent had a normal body fat percentage"
Ok so since 39.3% of American men and 45.9% of American women meet the BMI guidelines for "normal weight" according to the CDC, this study is claiming that most of them are still at *abnormal* body fat percentages? First, this makes me question what "normal body fat percentage" even means if only 10% meet it. Second, how'd they define it to make nearly all so-called-normal-weight people have too much body fat?
Looks to me that they defined their parameters to reach the conclusion they wanted.
EDIT: I just noticed the statistic I used was outdated, however the disparity is still remarkable.0 -
I can believe some of that, especially the stat that 10% had a healthy body fat percentage. What I think is important to keep in mind is that there are people with a (technically) healthy BMI but still have too much body fat. I don't think it's too unrealistic that (at least in my area), 9 out of 10 random people have too much body fat.0
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Probably about right.0
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"10 percent had a normal body fat percentage"
Ok so since 39.3% of American men and 45.9% of American women meet the BMI guidelines for "normal weight" according to the CDC, this study is claiming that most of them are still at *abnormal* body fat percentages? First, this makes me question what "normal body fat percentage" even means if only 10% meet it. Second, how'd they define it to make nearly all so-called-normal-weight people have too much body fat?
Looks to me that they defined their parameters to reach the conclusion they wanted.
EDIT: I just noticed the statistic I used was outdated, however the disparity is still remarkable.
http://m.livescience.com/216-study-3-percent-americans-live-healthy-lifestyle.html
Says 40% are healthy weight. I think US News had something wrong.0 -
"10 percent had a normal body fat percentage"
Ok so since 39.3% of American men and 45.9% of American women meet the BMI guidelines for "normal weight" according to the CDC, this study is claiming that most of them are still at *abnormal* body fat percentages? First, this makes me question what "normal body fat percentage" even means if only 10% meet it. Second, how'd they define it to make nearly all so-called-normal-weight people have too much body fat?
Looks to me that they defined their parameters to reach the conclusion they wanted.
EDIT: I just noticed the statistic I used was outdated, however the disparity is still remarkable.
http://m.livescience.com/216-study-3-percent-americans-live-healthy-lifestyle.html
Says 40% are healthy weight. I think US News had something wrong.
http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(16)00043-4/abstract
Actual Mayo Clinic report does say 10%. They define 5-20% as acceptable for men. I've seen others use 25% as the upper threshold based on acceptable BMI range.
Wow, that's not good.0 -
It depends upon the criteria that are used. When you set the bar high, few can meet it.
We suddenly had more overweight and obese people when the weight thresholds for those were lowered. People who were at a healthy weight suddenly weren't.
Here's the bar:
"The researchers assessed how many people followed four general "principles of healthy living" -- a good diet, moderate exercise, not smoking and keeping body fat under control."
It's really low.cmriverside wrote: »You'd think just human nature would have caused a higher percentage.
Yes, people will typically lie when surveyed to make themselves look good/feel good.
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It's not really low. From the article:feisty_bucket wrote: »It depends upon the criteria that are used. When you set the bar high, few can meet it.
We suddenly had more overweight and obese people when the weight thresholds for those were lowered. People who were at a healthy weight suddenly weren't.
Here's the bar:
"The researchers assessed how many people followed four general "principles of healthy living" -- a good diet, moderate exercise, not smoking and keeping body fat under control."
It's really low.
They have a nebulous "normal body fat percentage" which is different from normal BMI (they don't want skinny fat people) so only those 10 percent even have a shot at hitting all 4 parameters. Healthy diet and sufficient exercise are open to variable definitions. Only smoking has a yes/no answer.Overall, 71 percent of the adults surveyed did not smoke, 38 percent ate a healthy diet, 10 percent had a normal body fat percentage and 46 percent got sufficient amounts of physical activity.0 -
It's not really low. They have a nebulous "normal fat body percentage" which is different from normal BMI (they don't want skinny fat people) so only those 10 percent even have a shot at hitting all 4 parametersActual Mayo Clinic report does say 10%. They define 5-20% as acceptable for men.
Well, here we're getting subjective then, with what we consider the bar to be. 20% on a male is hardly fitness-model territory. Any fitness-conscious guy who's trained for at least a year would probably be in that range. And yes, I'm very dismayed by this survey, assuming it's not full of wild errors or something.0 -
Also, it's a SURVEY. How accurate is it? People give out inaccurate information on surveys all the time. Like eating "healthy". How is that defined? What if they eat fruits, vegetables but eat too low of calories? Also other parameters that have a direct impact on the 4 aren't mentioned. Stress, sleep and genetics.
I wouldn't put much credence in it.
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feisty_bucket wrote: »It's not really low. They have a nebulous "normal fat body percentage" which is different from normal BMI (they don't want skinny fat people) so only those 10 percent even have a shot at hitting all 4 parametersActual Mayo Clinic report does say 10%. They define 5-20% as acceptable for men.
Well, here we're getting subjective then, with what we consider the bar to be. 20% on a male is hardly fitness-model territory. Any fitness-conscious guy who's trained for at least a year would probably be in that range. And yes, I'm very dismayed by this survey, assuming it's not full of wild errors or something.
I've usually seen 25% bandied about as an upper threshold.
I find it interesting that it looks like I'd pass this survey (not sure what the dietary cut off is, and I don't dairy much), but if they were using BMI instead of body fat, I'd probably fail for still being in the overweight category.0 -
cmriverside wrote: »That's odd, because only one of those would be able to be checked out by anyone other than the reporting person. You'd think just human nature would have caused a higher percentage. Heck, I could lie about my healthy diet, smoking and amount of exercise. The only one of those four factors that a doctor could legit observe would be the BMI, and even that wasn't the parameter. The parameter was "keeping body fat under control." How do they even measure that?
I call BS.
Not true. Smoking status was checked via blood tests.
Activity level was based on a tracking accelerometer to be worn at all times except water activities.
That leaves diet. They used a scoring rubric based on 24 hour dietary recall, so lying about it to game the system would need a certain level of knowledge for one to put down their diet in such a way that beats the system. Plus, lie in aggregate gets washed out - their criteria was people in the top 40% of the ratings for this, so if everyone lied, no one person moved up in the percentages.0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-03-22/less-than-3-percent-of-americans-live-a-healthy-lifestyle
Could 97% of us really be living an unhealthy lifestyle?
I imagine you are based on normal recommendations.0 -
What is a healthy life style? Is there a clear "definition"? I don't think there is. So the study is bunk.0
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kristen6350 wrote: »What is a healthy life style? Is there a clear "definition"? I don't think there is. So the study is bunk.
The point of the study wasn't actually simply to come up with a percentage of Americans that meet a healthy life style. It also involved a blood panel for several markers and see how strongly the various healthy habits correlate with the various blood panel numbers. Not surprising, the more of the 4 factors the person met, the better their markers in terms of standard expected ranges.0 -
97% seems high but in my own personal circle it isn't too far off (just talking about adults). I know about 4 people that exercise regularly (including myself), make an effort to eat a healthy diet, don't smoke, and have a good proportion of body fat. That's it. Everyone else I know (work and family/friends) either smokes and/or is overweight. Any trip I take to the grocery store or the mall, it is actually hard to spot adults that aren't overweight. So if you only have to violate one of the four items in the study, I can believe the 97% fail rate.0
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kristen6350 wrote: »What is a healthy life style? Is there a clear "definition"? I don't think there is. So the study is bunk.
A healthy lifestyle seems pretty easy to define to me. Since there are known lifestyle factors associated with increased risk of disease, the less of those you engage in, the healthier your lifestyle.0 -
A healthy diet for the survey is based on this rubric:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/healthy_eating_index/healthyeatingindex2005factsheet.pdf
Getting 50% or more of calories from solid fats, i.e., meats and saturated fats, is worth 0 points.
No grains is 0 points.
No fruit is worth 0 points.
Saturated fats above 15% of calories is worth 0 points.
I assume they would consider milk substitutes to meet the milk category(?). If so, I'm good on diet for part of the year. I don't eat a lot of fruit when it's not in season. Even the vegetables that are really fruit I don't eat much of when not in season.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »A healthy diet for the survey is based on this rubric:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/healthy_eating_index/healthyeatingindex2005factsheet.pdf
Getting 50% or more of calories from solid fats, i.e., meats and saturated fats, is worth 0 points.
No grains is 0 points.
No fruit is worth 0 points.
Saturated fats above 15% of calories is worth 0 points.
I assume they would consider milk substitutes to meet the milk category(?). If so, I'm good on diet for part of the year. I don't eat a lot of fruit when it's not in season. Even the vegetables that are really fruit I don't eat much of when not in season.
"Includes all milk products, such as fluid milk, yogurt, and cheese, and soy beverages."
Soy milk would count, it sounds like Almond or other nut butters would technically not. Seeing as only dairy and soy milk are the only ones that have agreed to always fortify with vitamin D, I can see why the others are excluded.0 -
In spite of the fact that I am very healthy, I apparently do not live a "healthy" lifestyle. Very closed-minded interpretation regarding the diet, for one.
So yes, I believe that this number would be accurate for people meeting *all four* of the conditions.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »A healthy diet for the survey is based on this rubric:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/healthy_eating_index/healthyeatingindex2005factsheet.pdf
Getting 50% or more of calories from solid fats, i.e., meats and saturated fats, is worth 0 points.
No grains is 0 points.
No fruit is worth 0 points.
Saturated fats above 15% of calories is worth 0 points.
I assume they would consider milk substitutes to meet the milk category(?). If so, I'm good on diet for part of the year. I don't eat a lot of fruit when it's not in season. Even the vegetables that are really fruit I don't eat much of when not in season.
"Includes all milk products, such as fluid milk, yogurt, and cheese, and soy beverages."
Soy milk would count, it sounds like Almond or other nut butters would technically not. Seeing as only dairy and soy milk are the only ones that have agreed to always fortify with vitamin D, I can see why the others are excluded.
Doh! I didn't think about yogurt and cheese. I guess I'm good even without the milk. IDK if my almond milk has D or not, but I take a D supplement during the months when I'm not out in the sun so I'm not concerned about it.
I wonder how necessary fruit is on a regular basis. I eat a lot of vegetables but in winter it tends to be mostly greens, beans and root vegetables.0 -
Color me not surprised.0
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The body fat percentage is the strongest limiting factor in their criteria.
Diet was going to be what it was going to be as they used a rubric and decided healthy would be in the 40th percentile, so they kind of decided 40% of people have a healthy diet ahead of time. A score of 43 on the rubrick I believe would be needed - I can't see in the study, but based on looking up other surveys the the Healthy Eating Index scores for the 2005 HEI criteria. ~70% don't smoke. ~46 meet the exercise recommendations.
I'm still amazed that the body fat criteria caused only around 10% to meet it.0 -
In order to pass, you have to hit all four markers...so the results aren't surprising. I mean I live what I consider to be a pretty healthy lifestyle...I eat well, as in primarily whole foods...mostly lean sourced protein, 6-8 servings of fruit and veg per day, whole grains, and healthy fats...I also exercise regularly in that I generally cycle anywhere from 60-80 miles per week and I lift a few days per week...I'm also at about 12% BF...but I also enjoy a nice cigar on the patio most nights when I get home...so I fail.
Most of my fitness friends have a vice or two as well, despite otherwise living a healthy lifestyle overall...they'd all likely fail this as well...so yeah, the results aren't too surprising.0 -
The body fat percentage is the strongest limiting factor in their criteria.
Diet was going to be what it was going to be as they used a rubric and decided healthy would be in the 40th percentile, so they kind of decided 40% of people have a healthy diet ahead of time. A score of 43 on the rubrick I believe would be needed - I can't see in the study, but based on looking up other surveys the the Healthy Eating Index scores for the 2005 HEI criteria. ~70% don't smoke. ~46 meet the exercise recommendations.
I'm still amazed that the body fat criteria caused only around 10% to meet it.
What is considered a healthy BF% for women in the study?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »The body fat percentage is the strongest limiting factor in their criteria.
Diet was going to be what it was going to be as they used a rubric and decided healthy would be in the 40th percentile, so they kind of decided 40% of people have a healthy diet ahead of time. A score of 43 on the rubrick I believe would be needed - I can't see in the study, but based on looking up other surveys the the Healthy Eating Index scores for the 2005 HEI criteria. ~70% don't smoke. ~46 meet the exercise recommendations.
I'm still amazed that the body fat criteria caused only around 10% to meet it.
What is considered a healthy BF% for women in the study?
8% to 30% - I almost posted 33% off the top of my head but I double checked the article's full text:
mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(16)00043-4/fulltext#sec1.40
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