What is a healthy lifestyle? This is not a trick question.

My answer would be something like the following. A healthy lifestyle is eating a good diet that has lots of servings of vegetables and fruits and is not too high in “bad” fats or simple carbs. It is not smoking, not drinking too much alcohol, exercising and maintaining a BMI (body mass index) appropriate for height and muscle mass.

Why did I even ask? We are bombarded with news items, articles, etc., about diet, exercise and lifestyle habits. Nearly everybody already knows all this.

However, comparison of NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data from 1988-1994 and 2001-2006 shows that though we might know this, we are not following through.

In the 10+ years between the surveys, in adults who were 40-74 years, the percentage with a BMI greater than 30 (considered obese) has increased from 28% to 36%, and eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables has decreased from 42% to 26%. Looking at five categories, physical activity, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, moderate alcohol use and not smoking the percentages of people who were in all five categories had dropped from 15% to 8%.

Is this a big surprise? No.

Education and knowledge is not where it is at. It is what is available, makes our lives easier and more pleasurable. Plus unhealthy lifestyles are usually cheaper.

How do we reverse this change? Short of transporting us all back 50, or more, years to a different era, I don’t think we can. We are in a different era, busy, stressed and short of time. Preparing healthy tasty meals takes personal interest and time. Not something that is that common.

The current economic crisis has to be making this worse, since cheap and frugal means more fast food. Plus major stress does not usually lead to good lifestyle choices.

Hell, now that I have decided that it is hopeless, I might as well have to have a drink to forget about my unhealthy lifestyle.

photo credit: ripplestone garden

[tags]healthy lifestyle, unhealthy lifestyles[/tags]