Are Americans eating healthier?

[glook]

I see people I know showing me how they bought a head of lettuce or a box of organic somethings and being awfully proud of themselves.

The lettuce goes in to an uneaten salad and the organic somethings are discarded months later after the first taste.

When you're SAD, SAD tastes good.

I'm happy. Others will be happy, too, but when I think of how long it took me, I figure it has to be in their time.

[Rob]

The lettuce goes in to an uneaten salad and the organic somethings are discarded months later after the first taste.

It's a numbers game. In the first round 100 people buy the fresh vegetables with all the best of intentions to eat more plant foods in their diet. 40 of them let the stuff rot, not eating it at all, and 80% of them will not try veggies again. Another 30 try the veggies and let half of the veggies rot and 60% will not try that again. Then 20 of the 100 will eat 80% of the veggies and throw the rest out and 40% of them will not try veggies again. And finally, 10 in 100 will actually consume all the veggies and 20% will not buy them again.

Going into the 2nd round there are 40 of the original 100 going back (8+12+12+8=40) for veggies and 16 of them (40%) will survive to the 3rd round. Going into the 4th round there are 8 survivors who actually take up vegetarian meals on a regular basis and perhaps 4 of the vegetarians by the 5th round who make vegan meals a part of their weekly meal plans. From those remaining a few will actually go vegetarian and one or two may go vegan.

Of course these are hypothetical numbers but only to illustrate that as long as people are open to the idea of consuming more plant foods, there will be one or two who actually make a complete switch to a vegan diet. As a society we're still going through the information phase - getting the word out which takes a long time. But we can be confident that a certain number of those people will move to the point of considering taking action, some who actually will and a few who will make a behavioral change.

So the key is maintaining the flow of information about the McDougall diet with the knowledge that somewhere along the way, change will come to a person you have touched along the way.

[rijman]

Thank you! This is very helpful information.

Thanks for the stats Jeff.

My next question is what can I do to help increase the awareness of the health benefits of a plant based diet?

Best Regards,

David

[JeffN]

Adherence to Healthy Lifestyle Habits in US Adults, 1988-2006.
American Journal of Medicine Volume 122, Issue 6, June 2009, Page 528-34.
Dana E. King, Arch G. Mainous III, Mark Carnemolla, Charles J. Everett.

Abstract

Background

Lifestyle choices are associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality. The purpose of this study was to compare adherence to healthy lifestyle habits in adults between 1988 and 2006.

Methods

Analysis of adherence to 5 healthy lifestyle trends (=/>5 fruits and vegetables/day, regular exercise >12 times/month, maintaining healthy weight [body mass index 18.5-29.9 kg/m2], moderate alcohol consumption [up to 1 drink/day for women, 2/day for men] and not smoking) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-1994 were compared with results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2006 among adults aged 40-74 years.

Results

Over the last 18 years, the percent of adults aged 40-74 years with a body mass index =/>30 kg/m2 has increased from 28% to 36% (P <.05); physical activity 12 times a month or more has decreased from 53% to 43% (P <.05); smoking rates have not changed (26.9% to 26.1%); eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables a day has decreased from 42% to 26% (P <.05), and moderate alcohol use has increased from 40% to 51% (P <.05). Adherence to all 5 healthy habits has gone from 15% to 8% (P <.05). Although adherence to a healthy lifestyle was lower among minorities, adherence decreased more among non-Hispanic Whites over the period. Individuals with a history of hypertension/diabetes/cardiovascular disease were no more likely to be adherent to a healthy lifestyle than people without these conditions.

Conclusions

Generally, adherence to a healthy lifestyle pattern has decreased during the last 18 years, with decreases documented in 3 of 5 healthy lifestyle habits. These findings have broad implications for the future risk of cardiovascular disease in adults.

In Health
Jeff

[DavidMR]

... Generally, adherence to a healthy lifestyle pattern has decreased during the last 18 years, with decreases documented in 3 of 5 healthy lifestyle habits. These findings have broad implications for the future risk of cardiovascular disease in adults.

That is so very depressing. But I must confess, I agree with this conclusion. When I go out into crowded places, I am simple astounded by the percentage of obese people (with Cokes, burgers and fries in hand).

I think it is going to take an obesity/heart disease/diabetes/cancer epidemic of enormous proportions--greater than we are even seeing today--to knock sense into people. People are going to have to become scared--very scared--before they change. But it will take more than that. It will take credible spokesmen--like McDougall, Esselstyn, Campbell, Barnard, Novick, Ornish etc.--to speak out at just the right times and venues.

It may literally take a life-threatening event PLUS an open mind PLUS a trusted friend who has the right lifestyle approach to make a difference. I recall the story of how Larry King suffered from a heart attack when his doctor and friend, Gabe Mirkin visited him in his hospital. Dr. Mirkin laid out the truth to him--Larry King would continue to suffer from heart disease, and possibly die soon, if he did not radically change his diet. And this message hit home. (See: http://ezinearticles.com/?Larry-Kings-H ... &id=167153)

[JeffN]

While it has been a few months since this topic was discussed, the following article just came out and the official reports will be out soon. Once again, it looks like we are not getting healthier.

Did Americans get any healthier over past decade?
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer – 2 hrs 30 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091231/ap_ ... thy_people

ATLANTA – About 10 years ago the government set some lofty health goals for the nation to reach by 2010.

So how did we do? By many measures, not so hot. There are more obese Americans than a decade ago, not fewer. We eat more salt and fat, not less. More of us have high blood pressure. More of our children have untreated tooth decay.

But the nation has made at least some progress on many other goals. Vaccination rates improved. Most workplace injuries are down. And deaths rates from stroke, cancer and heart disease are all dropping.
As we move into a new decade, the government is analyzing how well the nation met the 2010 goals and drawing up a new set of goals for 2020 expected to be more numerous and — perhaps — less ambitious.
"We need to strike a balance of setting targets that are achievable and also ask the country to reach," said Dr. Howard Koh, the federal health official who oversees the Healthy People project. "That's a balance that's sometimes a challenge to strike."

The Healthy People objectives were first created in the late 1970s to set an agenda for getting Americans to live longer, healthier lives. It was also an attempt to involve the public and emphasize that many health problems are preventable.

Every 10 years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reassesses the goals, and reports on progress made in the previous decade.

Many call the effort a success. The report has been imitated by states and other nations. Because of its importance within public health circles, interest groups jockey to add their goals to the document, which is expanding to more than 1,000 targets. And health agency workers have Healthy People goals memorized.

"It is something that we think about all the time," said Dr. Lance Rodewald, a vaccination expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But after more than 30 years, the goals aren't well known to the public and only a modest number have been met.

About 41 percent of the 1990 measurable goals were achieved. For the 2000 goals, it was just 24 percent.

As for the 2010 goals, data is still being collected, and a final report is not due out until 2011. But it looks like the results will be in the neighborhood of 20 percent, according to a preliminary analysis by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

The CDC analysis done this fall found that just 18 percent of those goals have been met so far. Worse, the nation actually retreated from about 23 percent of the goals.

One example: Healthy People 2010 called for the percentage of adults who are obese to drop to 15 percent. That goal was set at a time when nearly a quarter of all adults were obese. Now, about 34 percent of adults are obese, according to the latest federal statistics.

Some other backslides:

_An estimated 28 percent of adults had high blood pressure in 2000. The goal was to reduce that to 16 percent. But the most recent government data say the proportion has risen to 29 percent.

_About 16 percent of young children had untreated tooth decay in 2000. The target was 9 percent. The latest statistic is about 20 percent.

_The proportion of births by cesarean section increased despite a 2010 goal of lowering them, and the percentage of infants born very small and fragile also increased.

The nation has had better luck raising childhood vaccination rates, lowering cancer death rates, increasing smoking laws and reducing most types of work injuries.

To many health officials, simply making progress is a victory. An analysis of 635 of the nearly 1,000 targets for the past decade shows only 117 goals have been met. But progress was made toward another 332. In other words, there was improvement in 70 percent of the measures.

"That's evidence of a healthier nation," Koh said.
The Healthy People effort could be better if it included more information about how to reach the goals, and how much it would cost, said David Holtgrave, a health policy expert at Johns Hopkins University.

The program lays out the goals, but looks to others — and the public — to find ways to achieve them. Healthy People does not provide funding to meet the goals, either.

"It's all carrot and no stick," said Dr. Richard Riegelman, founding dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health, who has been part of the Healthy People planning.

Right now, health officials are developing goals for 2020. The details are far from settled, but an advisory panel of experts has recommended that the new goals be more realistic. They also hope to make it more inviting to the public.

In the past, Healthy People reports have been released as a book the size of a James Michener epic.

"They have a lot of good information. They can also give you a backache," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health who heads a committee working on the new goals.

He and others are pushing for Healthy People 2020 to be an online document that links to Web sites and sources for nutrition and exercise advice and other ways people can improve their own health.

"We want to make 2020 a blueprint everyone can rally behind," Fielding said.

[rijman]

Thank you very much Jeff, I appreciate the information about health trends. The article you provided clearly indicates we are not getting healthier as a nation.

It seems as though a more realistic goal on obesity is to stop the current rising trend and maintain the current level through 2020. That may be too much to expect, which is very sad.

I wonder if awareness of the benefits of a plant based diet is growing with the plant based diet books, websites and celebrities who are speaking up. I sure hope so.

[JeffN]

It seems as though a more realistic goal on obesity is to stop the current rising trend and maintain the current level through 2020. That may be too much to expect, which is very sad.

Thanks.

I agree and that is basically the premise of this book...

http://www.hmrc.umich.edu/news/zero%20trends.html

...which (I believe) is saying what we need to do before reversing all the problems is stop them from getting any worse. In other words, don't just worry about the "20%" that are the sickest but also focus on the other 80% from getting any worse. I will be having lunch with him in late January and will find out more.

In Health
Jeff

[JeffN]

One more..

Percentage of Overweight, Obese Americans Swells
Americans Are Eating Poorly, Exercising Less, and Getting Bigger, Survey Finds
By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Feb. 10, 2010 -- More Americans are becoming overweight or obese, exercising less, and eating unhealthy foods.

That’s the finding of the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which shows that 63.1% of adults in the U.S. were either overweight or obese in 2009.

That was a small but measurable increase from 62.2% the previous year. The survey finds that 36.6% of Americans are overweight and 26.5% obese.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index findings are based on telephone interviews with 673,000 adults in January 2008 to December 2009. About 90,000 surveys were done each quarter, and the margin of error for the quarterly results is +/- 0.3 percentage points.

The survey finds that:

* 59.2% of obese Americans exercised at least one day per week, compared to 69.9% of overweight people, and 73.8% of normal-weight people.

* Obese people are less likely than people in every other weight category (overweight, normal weight, underweight) to have eaten five servings of fruits and vegetables on at least three days of the past seven.

* Obese Americans also are less likely to say they ate healthy “all day yesterday.”

Here’s a breakdown of groups that ate the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables three to seven days per week:

* 71.6% of normal-weight people
* 69% of underweight people
* 68.9% of overweight people
* 67.2% of obese people

Body mass index (BMI) is a common measure of body fat based on height and weight.

(Calculate your body mass index at www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus.)

A BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese, overweight if it’s between 25-29.9, normal if it’s 18.5-24.9, and underweight if it’s less than 18.5.

People who are obese are far more likely to report being diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or to have had a heart attack.

The survey found that:

* Of people with high blood pressure, 46.2% were obese, 31.1% were overweight, 19.3% were of normal weight, and 17.2% underweight.

* Of people with high cholesterol, 36.8% were obese, 30.1% overweight, 19.2% normal weight, and 14.1% underweight.

* Of people with diabetes, 21.1% were obese, 9.8% overweight, 5% normal weight, and 4.2% underweight.

* Of people reporting heart attacks, 6.3% were obese, 4.8% overweight, 3.3% normal weight, and 4.4% underweight.

* Of depressed people, 23.3% were obese, 15.3% overweight, 15% normal weight, and 20% underweight.

The survey says that African-Americans in 2009 were among the most likely to be obese, at 36.2%, compared to the national average of 26.5%. The obesity rate among Hispanics, at 28.3%, is also higher than the national average. Asians are far less likely to be obese, with only 9.6% falling into that category.

The survey also reports that:

* 18.3% of young Americans are obese, compared to 27.6% between ages 30-44 and 30.6% among 45- to 64-year-olds. Of people 65 and over, 24.2% are obese.

* Men are more likely than women to be obese, 27.8% compared to 25.2%.

The report concludes that obesity is still on the rise and that reversing this trend may require the involvement of communities, businesses, and governments.

[Tazi752000]

It is so ironic that Americans in general are less healthy, while at the same time we have more options for healthy food. There is more variety of fruits and vegetables available. But there is also more high calorie junk foods and convienence foods. Also meat, eggs and milk are so cheap that many people eat huge amounts of these high calorie foods. You can buy a pound of chicken breasts for $1.99/lb or you can buy a head of good lettuce for $2.99/lb. Most produce is just as expensive as meat on a per pound price and so alot of people choose meat because they believe it is more filling. I even checked ads for my local grocery store and found chicken leg quarters for $0.79/lb while potatoes were $1/lb.

I remember when grocery stores where small places, now they can take up most of a city block. The produce section is huge and there are usually around a hundred different kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables available. But the rest of the store is filled with thousands of varieties of junk! Fake food filled with chemicals and colors and created in labs to taste good and mimic real food. Look at people's grocery carts when you shop and you'll realize that most people eat meat, eggs, milk and fake food. foods filled with empty calories, fat and sugar.

[rijman]

Thanks for the update Jeff.

I first learned about the benefits of a veggie diet through the China Study and one of the initial points of the book was that Americans were confused about proper diet due to all the misinformation bombarding them from books such as the Atkins and South Beach diets. Doctors and nutritionists also send mixed messages about meat and dairy.

I know a couple of families who want to do well by their kids and themselves and they strive to provide a healthy diet and daily exercise. Both families drink milk everyday because they believe it is healthy from what they learned as children and had reinforced their entire adult lives. Despite my well intentioned, although probably annoying to them, warnings about milk they cannot believe milk is an unhealthy food choice.

I don't feel bad for people who take up smoking these days, because everyone knows the risks. I do feel badly for those who eat unhealthy diets thinking their diet is healthy or at least not bad for them simply beacuse they probably don't know the truth about meat and dairy. Sure, most Americans are aware they should eat more fruits and veggies, but I believe most don't know they should eat less meat and dairy (or none at all). People are making diet decisions for themselves and their families based on misinformation, which is very frustrating.

If there was a clear and consistent message to the public about what constituted a healthy diet there is no doubt in my mind we would see rapid improvement in short time. If Dr. McDougall's message was the prevailing message from news sources, books and doctors our national health would turn around quickly, imho.

[nonyabizz]

^ I agree with this

[JeffN]

And the situation continues to get worse...

Uptick in High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure in U.S.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127055/Uptic ... ssure.aspx


Americans Making No Progress on Obesity

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127610/Ameri ... ng%20Index


Americans Exercise Less in 2009 Than in 2008

http://www.gallup.com/poll/125102/Ameri ... -2008.aspx


And while there is a small increase in the amount who say they eat healthy, the percentage reporting eating five or more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables on at least four days in the previous week is actually done, which I think is much more telling.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/125336/Uptic ... oduce.aspx

In Health
Jeff

[rijman]

And the situation continues to get worse...

Uptick in High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure in U.S.
Americans Making No Progress on Obesity
Americans Exercise Less in 2009 Than in 2008

And while there is a small increase in the amount who say they eat healthy, the percentage reporting eating five or more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables on at least four days in the previous week is actually done, which I think is much more telling.

In Health
Jeff

Almost everyone I know believes they eat relatively healthy diets, but what is healthy? Local schools have cracked down on sugary snacks and drinks, but their menues with pizza every day for lunch and cheese on almost every item aren't healthy. Jamie Oliver thinks because he is serving fresh foods to school kids they are eating healthy meals, but they're not (I agree the meals are healthier). The Atkins and Southbeach diets claim to be healthy, but they're not. In the meantime obesity, diabetes and heart diseases, just to name a few, keep rising in our country.

How do you make it through the day Jeff? I guess on the positive side you are in a field and country where your expertise is GREATLY needed now more than ever.

[JeffN]

Almost everyone I know believes they eat relatively healthy diets, but what is healthy? Local schools have cracked down on sugary snacks and drinks, but their menues with pizza every day for lunch and cheese on almost every item aren't healthy. Jamie Oliver thinks because he is serving fresh foods to school kids they are eating healthy meals, but they're not (I agree the meals are healthier). The Atkins and Southbeach diets claim to be healthy, but they're not. In the meantime obesity, diabetes and heart diseases, just to name a few, keep rising in our country.

You hit on what I think is the biggest problem in the country. It is not that people don't know, it is what they know that they think is right, ir wrong.

I wish they would no nothing as they would be easier to educate. But everyone seems to think they know what is right, in spite of the fact that it doesn't work for them. So, it is hard to educate them when they think they know already.

Today, the bad guys are so good are looking like the good guys and they are especially good and making their bad info sound like the good info and convincing you that it is. And, in making the real good guys, look like the bad guys.

How do you make it through the day Jeff? I guess on the positive side you are in a field and country where your expertise is GREATLY needed now more than ever.

Thanks!

In Health
Jeff