How many of these four things do you do?
• Maintain a good diet
• Engage in moderate exercise*
• Stay within your recommended body fat percentage
• Be a non-smoker
If you can’t say you do all four then you are among the majority. In fact, about 97 percent of the U.S. population can’t make that claim according to a recent study performed by Oregon State University and the University of Mississippi.
Why is that important? Well, the more of these habits you embrace, the more it decreases the potential health risk you may have. What the researchers found is although many of the people in the study did engage in some of these lifestyle habits, only a meager 2.7 percent of the people engaged in all four.
It’s nice to put a number on it, but it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that an overwhelming majority of our population is not engaged in a healthy lifestyle. Increasing obesity rates alone add perspective to research like this. The question is: What can we do to lead a healthier lifestyle to lead a healthier life?
Probably the most important part is a good diet — something that just 38 percent of the study’s participants had. A good diet will do things such as help with body fat, as well as give you energy throughout the day to do various things, including physical activity. Mental health, although not mentioned in the study, is something that should be included in a healthy lifestyle. Things such as stress, anxiety, and self-esteem can be factors in how you feel, what you weigh, and how healthy you are. Synergy with all these aspects is a good formula for a healthy lifestyle. The next step is to actually do them.
What healthy change can you make today?