Only 1 in 16 Americans manages all five healthy lifestyle factors considered most important to warding off chronic disease, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts there studied data on 400,000 Americans from a 2013 national health and nutrition survey to measure adherence to these key ingredients for health:
– Not smoking
– Exercising regularly
– Drinking alcohol in moderation, or not at all
– Keeping at a healthy weight
– Getting at least seven hours of nightly sleep.
Only 6.3% of adults could check off all five, with most people managing only two or three. People were most likely to fail in watching their weight, with only 32.5% managing a normal BMI (body mass index). Just over half met physical activity recommendations, which generally call for 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Nonsmoking was the most commonly achieved factor, at 81.6%.