Apparently healthy is a rare breed. Photo: Shutterstock.
We all know that America is pretty unhealthy. Europeans have been mocking us for decades saying so. Maybe McDonald’s is to blame, or maybe it’s just American culture, but for whatever reason, our country just can’t get it together.
That being said, it seemed like we were doing better. The combination of the kale revolution, the yoga pant craze, and the fact I even have a job as a health editor all pointed to the fact that America was starting to care about health. People juice now, for Pete’s sake. Soul Cycle can charge $34 for a spin class, and every bike is booked. Maybe this is just the California bubble, but I really thought things were starting to change.
Turns out, I was very wrong. A recent study determined that 97% of Americans do not lead what the study’s authors define as a “healthy lifestyle.” That is one shocking (and defeating) statistic. According to the authors, a healthy lifestyle is comprised of the following components:
-Moderate or vigorous exercise for at least 150 minutes per week.
-A diet that scored at least in the top 40% on the Healthy Eating Index.
-A body fat percentage under 20% for men and under 30% for women.
-Not smoking.
These requirements seem pretty modest, and honestly, they don’t seem that hard to achieve. Yet somehow, 97% of America falls short in a least one of the four categories, leaving only 2.7% of the nation “healthy.”
Some of the requirements were met easily. For example, smoking has been steadily decreasing over the past couple decades, and 71.5% of the adults surveyed did not smoke. From there though, the numbers taper off steadily. 46.5% of those surveyed got enough exercise, which isn’t great, but it isn’t completely defeating. However, the final two categories were the kickers. Only a little over a third of all people met the diet requirements, but less than 10% had what researcher would deem a healthy body fat percentage. Yikes.
That last category really seems to be what did America in. Over 13% of respondents were non-smokers, healthy eaters, who got sufficient exercise. Not great, but at least the percentage is in the double digits. However, even with all these factors accounted for, most of these almost healthy people still carried too much body fat.
Researchers also found that the strength of the categories fluctuated between different demographics. For example, the study found that men had a greater likelihood of meeting the exercise requirement, while women were more likely to eat healthy and be nonsmokers.
Well, better luck next time, America.
