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Research Highlights
Only 1 in 20 Americans living 'heart-healthy lifestyle'
March 22, 2005
Despite years of public education aimed at getting people to exercise, eat right and quit smoking, only 1 in 20 Americans is taking all the advice to heart, says a new study by Veterans Affairs researchers.
A team at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington analyzed data from a 2000 telephone survey of nearly 39,000 adults in 13 states. The researchers focused on three heart-healthy behaviors covered in the survey: eating at least five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly, and avoiding smoking. They found that only five percent of those surveyed were doing all three.
"Participation in a heart-healthy lifestyle is dismal," said Chris L. Bryson, MD, MS, a physician and health-services researcher with VA and the University of Washington, and senior author on the study. "We found that only about 1 in 20 individuals is meeting current recommendations for exercise, diet and smoking." Findings from the new study have been published on the website of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2005/apr/04_0115.htm.
The analysis was based on the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The system gathers information each year on what Americans are doing-or not doing-for their health, and helps various agencies plan their programs. While the data used in the study were from 2000, the authors say recent reports suggest that Americans' adherence to heart-healthy behaviors hasn't improved much since then.
Combined adherence to all three key heart-healthy behaviors was far worse than for any of the individual behaviors. About 20% of respondents said they exercised regularly, or ate enough fruits and vegetables. About 80% said they were non-smokers, but only 5% said they followed the government's recommendations in all three areas.
According to lead author Rosalie Miller, MD, MPH, who was a fellow with VA when the research was conducted, health agencies may need to adopt more comprehensive, multi-pronged strategies to improve Americans' diet and exercise habits. She cited the success of anti-smoking efforts and pointed to the wide range of tactics used in that area, including, for example, clean indoor-air laws, telephone "quit-lines," media campaigns, increased taxes on cigarettes, insurance coverage for cessation counseling and medications, and healthcare-system initiatives.
*Working with Miller and Bryson on the study were Anne E. Sales. MSN, PhD; Branko Kopjar, MD, MS, PhD; and Stephan D. Fihn, MD, MPH, all with the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington.
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