97% of U.S. Adults Lead Unhealthy Lives

Most American adults are lazy fatasses, according to the latest scientific research.

Few U.S. Adults Lead Healthy Lives (Reuters)

A paltry number of Americans follow four basic rules of health living — don’t smoke, eat well, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight, according to new study findings released Monday. After surveying more than 150,000 adults, Michigan researchers found that only three percent said they maintained these healthy habits. Lead author Dr. Mathew J. Reeves of Michigan State University in East Lansing told Reuters Health he expected that a minority of adults would keep up all habits, “but three percent was really quite surprising.”

He explained that there are probably a number of reasons why the vast majority of Americans don’t follow their doctors’ orders. People are busy, live in environments more conducive to driving everywhere than walking or biking, and may lack information about the dangers of unhealthy habits, Reeves suggested. But likely the biggest reason is the “current cultural norm” to live unhealthy lives, he said. “If most people around you are overweight, and don’t exercise and eat mostly fast food, then it’s very hard to see the need to change the way you are living,” Reeves noted.

True.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Anderson says:

    We’re just waiting for new studies to reveal that we’ve been leading healthy lives all along.

  2. Michael says:

    I am simply amazed that we are the most
    unheathy of people yet still produce the most while apparently we are sitting on our collect fat a$$es. Our Olympic performances show clearly how far we are behind the rest of the world in achievement. Our overweight army has no chance of winning at all because of Betty Crocker I bet.

    Is it required to take a stupid test to get on the Michigan Research team?

  3. John Burgess says:

    I must have been out of the country when they held that referendum that decided Americans must lead long, but miserable, lives instead of short, fun ones. Was it put up by the clowns at Center for Science in the Public Interest?

  4. Kent says:

    97% of U.S. Adults Lead Unhealthy Lives

    This doubtless explains our short life expectancy. 😉