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Less Than 3 Percent of Americans Live a Healthy Lifestyle
Replies
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cwolfman13 wrote: »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.
The interesting thing is the lifting might not count. Active was based on acceleromotor movement. Those things don't tend to care if you're taking one step or pushing 600 lbs off your back, so long as the acceleration is the same, it doesn't know the force.0 -
It seems from a cursory glance that while each of the metrics doesn't set the bar particularly high, when combined to have to hit all 4 to be "healthy,' the bar might be very clearly too high.0
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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#sec1.4
Cool. I live a healthy lifestyle for at least part of the year.
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Sometimes i think that because a lot of people are food & fitness aware here on this website, we tend to forget what we see going to a Sporting Event, or going to the Mall etc----just from observing ppl out & about, i'd say it seems the survey is correct.0
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Sometimes i think that because a lot of people are food & fitness aware here on this website, we tend to forget what we see going to a Sporting Event, or going to the Mall etc----just from observing ppl out & about, i'd say it seems the survey is correct.
Couldn't agree more - not to mention anyone who smokes, no matter how healthy they are otherwise.0 -
I have to say MFP has made a difference in my awareness. Now that I am no longer obese I do see more obese people. When looking at all four points there are few that meet them.0
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Could be. I am in a fitness challenge on Map My Walk. I go to the gym everyday and walk every day. Only my walk is calculated on Map My Walk, and I am in the top 5% of the people participating. A one hour walk daily? That really surprised me. I don't log my gym time on Map My Walk, so that is not even included.0
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I might be healthy. I see you get points for eating things they like, and none deducted for consuming erm... Other stuff. Other than just smoking, which I don't.0
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I might be healthy. I see you get points for eating things they like, and none deducted for consuming erm... Other stuff. Other than just smoking, which I don't.
You get lower scores in the healthy eating rubrick if enough percent of calories come from added sugar, alcohol, or solid fat.
For the study, they looked for people with the top 40% in the rubrick.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.
Bingo.
I saw that so I went to look at the primary authors other research since this paper isn't freely available.
ANDDD ... Yep. That's a fail.
They use a very restrictive definition of "normal body fat" 8-20% for males, independent of age and 12-30% for females, also age independent.
And the authors CV clearly states his research is focused on "physical activity promotion".
So there might be a tad bias here...
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Are they expecting a healthy diet ALL the time? Do they offer room for variation because of a special occasion....or a Saturday out?0
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Damn, that's 3% more than I thought. I'm impressed.0
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ForecasterJason wrote: »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.
so you surveyed everyone in your area to get that number?0 -
htimpaired wrote: »Are they expecting a healthy diet ALL the time? Do they offer room for variation because of a special occasion....or a Saturday out?
Saturdays are fine but not the 2 days of recall.
If you partied on those two days you are a crappy eater.
Science.0 -
So I live in a suburb of NYC, and work in sales. The 12 people in my department spend all day sitting at a desk making outbound calls. We run the gamut in ages from 21 - 60 something. Just based on what I can guess from fully clothed people, I would say 5 are overweight, 2 are really slim (possibly underweight?) and the other 5 are a healthy weight. Most of us bring lunch most of the time. There is one smoker (he is one of the probably overweight group). Three of the guys are working a lifting program together after work, and another 4 of us discuss our regular workouts, plus often take walks on our lunch break. So I would conservatively guess that 6 of the twelve (and maybe 7) are "healthy". I feel our group is fairly representative of the whole company.
Sure I see people out and about who are overweight or smoking, but I see just as many who aren't. Yep, I see folks with carts full of nothing but candy, Hot Pockets, and Sunny D, but I also see plenty of carts full of chicken parts and produce and eggs. There is a gym or fitness center in just about every strip of stores (right next to the deli, the bagel place, and the liquor store, mind you) but they are always full of people. I don't think of New York as a "healthier than average" area, but maybe it is? Obviously this is all me assuming stuff, but I feel like this study kind of did that too.
I don't know, I just don't think 10% is an accurate number. The litmus tests they are using seem arbitrary to me, and I think I might argue with them on the definition of a "healthy lifestyle".0 -
So I live in a suburb of NYC, and work in sales. The 12 people in my department spend all day sitting at a desk making outbound calls. We run the gamut in ages from 21 - 60 something. Just based on what I can guess from fully clothed people, I would say 5 are overweight, 2 are really slim (possibly underweight?) and the other 5 are a healthy weight. Most of us bring lunch most of the time. There is one smoker (he is one of the probably overweight group). Three of the guys are working a lifting program together after work, and another 4 of us discuss our regular workouts, plus often take walks on our lunch break. So I would conservatively guess that 6 of the twelve (and maybe 7) are "healthy". I feel our group is fairly representative of the whole company.
Sure I see people out and about who are overweight or smoking, but I see just as many who aren't. Yep, I see folks with carts full of nothing but candy, Hot Pockets, and Sunny D, but I also see plenty of carts full of chicken parts and produce and eggs. There is a gym or fitness center in just about every strip of stores (right next to the deli, the bagel place, and the liquor store, mind you) but they are always full of people. I don't think of New York as a "healthier than average" area, but maybe it is? Obviously this is all me assuming stuff, but I feel like this study kind of did that too.
I don't know, I just don't think 10% is an accurate number. The litmus tests they are using seem arbitrary to me, and I think I might argue with them on the definition of a "healthy lifestyle".
NYC and many highly urban areas that rely on foot traffic for transport have lower levels of overweight and obese.
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So I live in a suburb of NYC, and work in sales. The 12 people in my department spend all day sitting at a desk making outbound calls. We run the gamut in ages from 21 - 60 something. Just based on what I can guess from fully clothed people, I would say 5 are overweight, 2 are really slim (possibly underweight?) and the other 5 are a healthy weight. Most of us bring lunch most of the time. There is one smoker (he is one of the probably overweight group). Three of the guys are working a lifting program together after work, and another 4 of us discuss our regular workouts, plus often take walks on our lunch break. So I would conservatively guess that 6 of the twelve (and maybe 7) are "healthy". I feel our group is fairly representative of the whole company.
Sure I see people out and about who are overweight or smoking, but I see just as many who aren't. Yep, I see folks with carts full of nothing but candy, Hot Pockets, and Sunny D, but I also see plenty of carts full of chicken parts and produce and eggs. There is a gym or fitness center in just about every strip of stores (right next to the deli, the bagel place, and the liquor store, mind you) but they are always full of people. I don't think of New York as a "healthier than average" area, but maybe it is? Obviously this is all me assuming stuff, but I feel like this study kind of did that too.
I don't know, I just don't think 10% is an accurate number. The litmus tests they are using seem arbitrary to me, and I think I might argue with them on the definition of a "healthy lifestyle".
if we're going to speak anecdotally here....
When i was working in (3 seperate) an office environment in houston texas.... I was either the only 1 or 1 of 2 employees within the normal healthy weight range.
One of the offices had 300+ employees and i was STILL the only *female* of normal weight. I'd say maybe 5-10 guys office wide were not overweight.
I know houston is one of the fattest if not the fattest cities in the US, i'm just saying...0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »"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.
Bingo.
I saw that so I went to look at the primary authors other research since this paper isn't freely available.
ANDDD ... Yep. That's a fail.
They use a very restrictive definition of "normal body fat" 8-20% for males, independent of age and 12-30% for females, also age independent.
And the authors CV clearly states his research is focused on "physical activity promotion".
So there might be a tad bias here...
The data set used is NHANES. The Mayo Clinic researchers didn't collect the data, they just reviewed it.
20% body fat as a recommendation for a male isn't an obscure level. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, Eighth Edition, 2010 uses the same standard, with slight bumps for 40-59, and 60-79.
Their male breakdown isAge 20-39 40 60-79 Low% < 8.0 <11.0 <13.0 Normal% 8.0-19,9 11.0-21.9 13.0-24.9 High% 20.9-24.9 22.0-27.9 25.0-29.9 Very High% >25.0 >28.0 > 30.0
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Hmmm, well, out here in the suburbs you can't really walk anywhere, but I get both of your points. I'm just trying to square away if what I think of as a healthy lifestyle isn't really all that healthy
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Lots of TOFIs and FOFIs in the United States. How depressing...0
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halfninja2 wrote: »Sometimes i think that because a lot of people are food & fitness aware here on this website, we tend to forget what we see going to a Sporting Event, or going to the Mall etc----just from observing ppl out & about, i'd say it seems the survey is correct.
Couldn't agree more - not to mention anyone who smokes, no matter how healthy they are otherwise.
Smoking significantly increases the risk of several diseases so while someone who smokes may be healthy at the moment, they certainly shouldn't be considered as living a healthy lifestyle.0 -
I might be healthy. I see you get points for eating things they like, and none deducted for consuming erm... Other stuff. Other than just smoking, which I don't.
You get lower scores in the healthy eating rubrick if enough percent of calories come from added sugar, alcohol, or solid fat.
For the study, they looked for people with the top 40% in the rubrick.
How do they measure the alcohol calories? Just the alcohol and not whatever comes with it?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I might be healthy. I see you get points for eating things they like, and none deducted for consuming erm... Other stuff. Other than just smoking, which I don't.
You get lower scores in the healthy eating rubrick if enough percent of calories come from added sugar, alcohol, or solid fat.
For the study, they looked for people with the top 40% in the rubrick.
How do they measure the alcohol calories? Just the alcohol and not whatever comes with it?
"Calories from Solid Fats, Alcoholic beverages, and Added Sugars (SoFAAS)" is the category. Seeing as the term is "alcoholic beverages" I'd interpret it as calories in an alcoholic drink. A dairqui probably screws people's score over a lot.
The rubrick is at http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/healthy_eating_index/healthyeatingindex2005factsheet.pdf
If anyone wants to guestimate their own score.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »halfninja2 wrote: »Sometimes i think that because a lot of people are food & fitness aware here on this website, we tend to forget what we see going to a Sporting Event, or going to the Mall etc----just from observing ppl out & about, i'd say it seems the survey is correct.
Couldn't agree more - not to mention anyone who smokes, no matter how healthy they are otherwise.
Smoking significantly increases the risk of several diseases so while someone who smokes may be healthy at the moment, they certainly shouldn't be considered as living a healthy lifestyle.
Does it matter what is smoked?0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »"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.
Bingo.
I saw that so I went to look at the primary authors other research since this paper isn't freely available.
ANDDD ... Yep. That's a fail.
They use a very restrictive definition of "normal body fat" 8-20% for males, independent of age and 12-30% for females, also age independent.
And the authors CV clearly states his research is focused on "physical activity promotion".
So there might be a tad bias here...
The data set used is NHANES. The Mayo Clinic researchers didn't collect the data, they just reviewed it.
20% body fat as a recommendation for a male isn't an obscure level. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, Eighth Edition, 2010 uses the same standard, with slight bumps for 40-59, and 60-79.
Their male breakdown isAge 20-39 40 60-79 Low% < 8.0 <11.0 <13.0 Normal% 8.0-19,9 11.0-21.9 13.0-24.9 High% 20.9-24.9 22.0-27.9 25.0-29.9 Very High% >25.0 >28.0 > 30.0
2% and 5% in body fat is not a "slight bump"
ACE places "obese" at 25%/32% or above
So it depends of who you want to listen to.
But 20%, all ages is no ones standard.0 -
So under 8% for a guy would disqualify them per the survey?0
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EvgeniZyntx wrote: »EvgeniZyntx wrote: »"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.
Bingo.
I saw that so I went to look at the primary authors other research since this paper isn't freely available.
ANDDD ... Yep. That's a fail.
They use a very restrictive definition of "normal body fat" 8-20% for males, independent of age and 12-30% for females, also age independent.
And the authors CV clearly states his research is focused on "physical activity promotion".
So there might be a tad bias here...
The data set used is NHANES. The Mayo Clinic researchers didn't collect the data, they just reviewed it.
20% body fat as a recommendation for a male isn't an obscure level. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, Eighth Edition, 2010 uses the same standard, with slight bumps for 40-59, and 60-79.
Their male breakdown isAge 20-39 40 60-79 Low% < 8.0 <11.0 <13.0 Normal% 8.0-19,9 11.0-21.9 13.0-24.9 High% 20.9-24.9 22.0-27.9 25.0-29.9 Very High% >25.0 >28.0 > 30.0
2% and 5% in body fat is not a "slight bump"
ACE places "obese" at 25%/32% or above
So it depends of who you want to listen to.
But 20%, all ages is no ones standard.
Yes. ACE says 25% is obese, they don't have a category for overweight. They put 18-24% as average. Now when they classify as average, is that to be descriptive or prescriptive? It is a bit of a problem.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »halfninja2 wrote: »Sometimes i think that because a lot of people are food & fitness aware here on this website, we tend to forget what we see going to a Sporting Event, or going to the Mall etc----just from observing ppl out & about, i'd say it seems the survey is correct.
Couldn't agree more - not to mention anyone who smokes, no matter how healthy they are otherwise.
Smoking significantly increases the risk of several diseases so while someone who smokes may be healthy at the moment, they certainly shouldn't be considered as living a healthy lifestyle.
Does it matter what is smoked?
The only thing I know of that has an established risk factor is smoking tobacco. Though I would imagine inhaling any type of smoke is dangerous.0 -
So under 8% for a guy would disqualify them per the survey?
I the researchers would have not used them them for doing any of the blood panel correlations for healthy body fat level. I'd imagine the researchers would assume anyone below 8% is suffering from some kind of medical condition.0
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