According to a new study conducted by researchers at Michigan State University, only three percent of the 150,000 adults surveyed follow the four basic rules of healthy living.
Here are the "four rules;" don't smoke, eat properly, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight.
After all of the money and effort spent in an attempt to educate the American public with regards to this subject, only three percent of the people in this study have "gotten it." How depressing.
The results of this study are the best indication to this date that our country is in real trouble. Forget test scores and all of that crap that educators use to measure the education and intelligence level of the populace. The fact is that despite the constant drum-beat that has been laid down in the media by both the well-intentioned public health authorities and "fast-buck" fitness hucksters, Americans are too stupid, lazy and self-absorbed to "get it."
Here's what one of the researchers posits.
"(The researcher) 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."
Nice try...Here's the reason; Too many of our people are STUPID!
"Live in environments more conducive to driving everywhere?!?" Did I miss something here, do we live like the Jetsons? Are we up in space without solid ground to walk on or water to wade in?
The researcher should have said, "Americans are just plain lazy. We have gotten fat, both figuratively and literally, and it's time to move on and spend our time and efforts on something worthwhile."
What do people need to hear and see? Cigarette companies, liquor companies and fast food chains have been telling us for years that their products are potentially unhealthy - even DEADLY - and should be consumed in moderation. McDonalds has stopped frying everything, grilled chicken is everywhere and exercise equipment is advertised on every channel on cable and satellite television systems.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Vidar Hokstad
With regards to the "Live in environments more conducive to driving everywhere" statement, I'm with the researcher. Compared to for instance Europe walking around is a real hazard in many places in the US, and impractical.
Compact city cores vs. sprawling cities with stores concentrated in malls mainly accessible by car, is one example.
Limited public transport is another - with public transport easily accessible people are likely to walk the last bit to and from a stop/station.
As someone without a drivers license (never bothered/needed one - always lived in cities with good public transport) there are many places in the US where I end up resorting to cabs all the time because it is simply extremely impractical to travel around by foot, and in some cases unsafe (lack of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings) - I've yet to be in a similar position anywhere else in the world I've visited.
2 - Lisa McKay
So, according to the study you cite, only 3% of the respondents followed all four rules for healthy living. The study also points out, however, that 76% of the respondents don't smoke, and 40% maintained a healthy weight. So in general, we seem to fall down on regular exercise and following a healthy diet, which they define as eating at least five fruits and vegetables every day. I know people who don't eat that many fruits and vegetables every day and still have a somewhat healthful diet. I think you're over-reacting just a wee bit.
3 - Temple Stark
Pretty much a disgusting piece here.
You start off with a false premise that After all of the money and effort spent in an attempt to educate the American public with regards to this subject, only three percent of the people in this study have "gotten it."
So wrong you say it twice.
You don't mention the fact that sometimes following all those rules isn't fun - and there are people whose lives don't center around being super healthy.
You also say people don't make the time. One wonders if you weren't "an expert - a strength and conditioning professional" whether you would have the time or the inclination.
I'd bet my life savings that if people were paid to exercise many more would. It's why actors do. It's why anyone who is paid to look good, does.
I don't admire them for it but there are many smart people who smoke.
There are many smart, fat people, though I don't understand how someone can choose to live grossly obese.
So clearly it's not a question of being "stupid" or "a moron."
Now, my having to pay for those decisions in respect to higher healthcare costs - yes, that has become my business and I'm upset about that.
And your headline, I thought, would be a joke. Didn't realize it would be the writing underneath. What is the purpose of your piece, anyway. To call people names. to say you're better than everyone else? Those are both really really great goals. Really.
4 - Eric Olsen
I'm with Sal and encourage this expression of self-righteous indignation. Rant on brother!! His purpose is to light a fire under the bloated lethargic asses of the fast food nation. Kick ass, take names, stand tall!!!
5 - Lisa McKay
Oh, I'm all for kicking the asses of the lazy, guys. I'm just against the blatant misuse of research data, which has something to do with what I do for a living. To take those statistics and use them as the basis for calling 97% of us stupid, fat and lazy is just, well, a little over the top.
But maybe we can discuss this over a hamburger and a beer?
6 - Eric Olsen
okay, but I am truly astonished that less than 25% exercise regularly. EVERYONE can and should exercise and no one should smoke - I am willing to be a little more lenient on the dietary issues
7 - Lisa McKay
Well, I have no argument with that. I am particularly wary of dietary guidelines since the FDA can't seem to make up their mind from one month to the next what's good and what's bad - I think most people know what constitutes a reasonable diet, and I'm a firm believer in the notion that there are very few things that are bad for you in moderation. Defining moderation is obviously a key here.
8 - sydney
Well, I’m all for Sal's forceful call to arms!
I mean, the rest of the world says it about Americans anyway. Might as well face up and see where the problem lies. We need to get smart about food issue in our country. I remember my Ukrainian ex-girlfriend used to laugh all the time at public gatherings because she found it funny how fat everyone was. It was hilarious to her.
Another anecdote: When I moved here from Canada I Was amazed at how fast food, and restaurant, portions were so much larger than in Canada. This is truer of the southern states, but is generally true across the board.
Secondly, There just seems to be way more people here eating fast food. Actually this is really just a subjective observation. Fast food joints though, and restaurants, seem to be a regular part of family dinners here in America. I often see whole families in fast food joints eating dinner. It strikes me as strange, being it's so unhealthy and so expensive.
Another thing, the schools here often have a lot of canteen contracts with junk food companies. There is no reason to serve students fries and gravy, and cokes every day for lunch. For one, it makes them fat. Secondly, they haven't the slightest bit of concentration for schoolwork after having eaten it. Parents have to raise a stink about this and get those damn companies out of our schools. There shouldn’t be soft drink machines or candy machines in our schools. Sandwiches, fruit , salads, and soups are fine (as some schools have served)
In any case, I can't say I eat overly healthy myself, but I suppose do better than the average American/Canadian.
9 - Temple Stark
I support his overall point, as well. But I'm very tired of having to wade through name-calling, sensationalistic headlines, snark or supposed humor to get a point, which often seems like the last reason for the post.
10 - sal m
No I'm not overreacting...Only 40% of the people maintain a healthy weight! Almost a quarter of the people surveyed still smoke despite knowing that it can kill you and certainly will adversely affect their lifestyle.
And the excuse that it's too dangerous to "walk around" in American because of urban sprawl falls into the same category as the "I don't have the time to eat right or exercise" baloney.
11 - sal m
Goodness me, perhaps I touched a very sensitive nerve in some people.
The tone I took in this piece is not the tone that I use every day - and have used every day - for the past 15-plus years in this business. I took this approach because it's counter to the coddling, touchy-feeley and ineffective approach used these days when dealing with this nation's laziness and lack of personal responsibility.
In particular Temple Stark totally doesn't get it...I make mention of what I do for a living so that the reader knows "from where I come," not because I think I'm better than those who are too lazy to take care of themself. And to say I workout because I'm paid to do so? What does that mean?
Stupid has many definitions; slow to learn or understand, tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes, marked by a lack of intelligence or care.
Do smokers fit in here? How about those who eat poorly or who are overweight? What about the folks who can't walk around the block for 20 minutes, three times a week?
I haven't engaged in "name calling" since all of these definitions apply to the 97% who have decided to ignore all of the info that has been thrown at them by not following the "four rules." Would it be better if I just used the word "obtuse?"
12 - francisco68
We recently returned to the US after a bad accident. The level of obesity is astounding! And, worse yet, at the U. of Miami School of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Cedars and VA Hospitals, etc. there is a McDonalds, a Dunking Donuts and a Subway on the campus area! Something is wrong here. One physical therapist spoke of working with an 850 pound man and special equipment to lift all the big ones off the floor. A healthy life style is needed.
I smoked (the world's worst addiction) for many years and had a massive heart attack.
Of course I also had the poor taste to pick grandparents who all had heart attacks. So who knows what does what.
Picasso smoked heavily until he was 93.
The secret is to live well, exercise, eat well, have lots of love and sex and pick your ancestors with care.
13 - DaKman
I agree...Europeans are far more superior to the short, fat, small pecker carrying americans...no wonder we steal their women easily, but who would want them? they are fat and disgusting as well...their intellectual ability is equal with an onion....poor Americans....they are stuck in their cultural wasteland and have no way of getting out...i guess a few have...
14 - Nancy
For starters, no one "chooses to live grossly obese", or very few, anyway. Most of those unfortunates who are grossly obese have biochemical conditions not well understood that skew the way their bodies process or burn calories. And no, it's not called 'overeating'. That viewpoint belongs back in the middle ages, along with the myth that smoking is not addictive.
On to another aspect of all this. Some time ago, I house-sat for friends up in NYC. Being from an area where housing is set far from shopping, which is clustered around commercial centers usually miles from the housing, which therefore entail driving, I was astounded & pleasantly surprised at how the shops & housing were so interspersed. Very few in NYC own cars. Why should they? NYC has a terrific (IMO) public transport system of subways & buses - & taxis, if needed - and everything is within a reasonable distance of a public transport stop to enable walking. I spent 6 weeks trotting around town, taking buses & subways, seeing great sights & meeting the most wonderful people (for all their vaunted surliness, New Yorkers are actually pussycats, incredibly nice to visitors, in my experience). If I wanted bread, I walked down to the local bakery & back. Not a burden, it was only 3/4 mile away. A nice walk. Ditto the little grocery, a pharmacy, and a 5 & dime store. The only time I used my car was when I went to load up on major groceries, & replaced heavy staples for my friends' homecoming. Some parts of Baltimore are the same: neighborhoods that are actually livable in terms of little shops in and among the housing, & decent public transit.
Where I live, the nearest grocery is a big-box chain store about 6 miles away, the nearest "5 & dime" a Walmart which, needless to say, is out in the middle of it's own county, just about, and everything else is ... out at the mall, also out in the middle of nowhere. Public transport? A couple of buses that wander here & there and stop far from any convenient letoff. The opposite of the NYC situation. Unfortunately, I think a good deal of the fattening & lazying of America can be laid at the door of developers & county "planners", who frankly did a piss-poor job of it. But that doesn't help most of us any now. Question is, what can be done about it? I doubt anyone is going to start going out & walking 6+ miles to Walmart from the housing areas, and certainly not if they intend to buy anything & have to haul it home.
As for stupidity, that's for another thread. But I do wonder how much of US health problems are due, not only to TV, but also to the endless additives & preservatives in most food that we eat? By that, I mean not only increasing weight problems, but also attention deficit disorders, etc.? Manufacturers were putting these chemicals in foods 'way before they knew more than that the stuff didn't poison people outright. They never did bother to check what it does 2 or 3 generations down the road....
15 - Guest
According the writter the "smart" Buffalo would break from the herd and tramp out on his own. Of course would only make him a conspicous target out on the dakota prairie. Unlike many supposedly "smart" animals that were exterminated the Buffalo managed to survive and today are not even endangered simply because they followed the herd mentality that we as Americans pride ourselves in.
I say let the writer break from the herd with the other "smart" 3%. That'll be a few less rounds for the hunters to fire on the herd.
16 - thomas riccardo
Yes, many Americans are overweight and many are ignorant but If you lived under constant pressure everyday of your lives you too would have troubles.
The Overweight problem is partially a psychological addiction too eating so as too make up for the lack of something else in their lives, it is used as a drug.
American wages are plummeting, inflation is rising at 8 to 10 percent a year.
50 million without healthinsurance, over 100 million with partial coverage.
The most expensive university system in the world which many cannot afford. The most expensive healthcare system in the world. The most expensive prescription drugs in the world.
Houses going up in my area 20 to 25 percent a year while wages are flat and healthcare costs soaring along with everything else. An 800 billion dollar current account deficit, a sign of our collasping manufacturing, mining and farming. a Governmental debt around 600 billion when counting the raids on Social Sercurity.
30 percent of the world's prisoners, 8 percent of the population has spent time in prison and on probation sometimes for minor offences or innocent of the crime. The only modern industrializd country that still uses the dealth penalty. The patriot act basically destroyed our constitution and now the Government can do what ever it wants to it's people.
Degrading road, water, electrical and school systems.
I could go on all day but all you need to know is America was an Empire with very high standards in all fields but over the past 25 years it is imploding because of corruption and I would not be surprised within the next 5 years we will not go through an economic collaspe like the Soviets went through.
17 - Kevin
I enjoyed the article about the fat, stupid, and lazy Americans.
Where I live, we have river floating on rafts in the summer, it's most enjoying to see how the populous here have stretched their waistbands and have continued to pursue larger figures.
As far as people that have commented and used excuses to NOT exersize, that is a form of your own laziness and stupidity as Americans, so thanks for representing my country and driving up costs for medical insurance.
Please don't sit next to me next time I fly...
18 - Angular
So, that's the shape of things
Hope it isn't the ring
which we all ding:}
19 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
I was thoroughly amused at this piece - though it is not only Americans who need line up at the "fat, stupid and lazy" queue.
There is a great deal to American culture that is poisonous. It pushes infantile values of immediate self-gratification, using sex and addictive substances (weed, nicotine, alcohol, meth, sugar, etc.) to keep people hooked and involved. It encourages time-wasting activities (hanging out at the mall, watching TV) to keep people from being productive WHEN NOT SERVING CORPORATE MASTERS.
The worst part of all this is not watching you Americans indulge in your self indulgence. It is watching fellow Israelis abandon our native culture for yours.
Feh.
20 - Anthony Grande
"Americans are lazy, fat AND stupid!"
Hey paisan, if we are lazy, fat and stupid then why are WE the ones who dominate over the world.