Concerned re Health? Yup. Proactive. Nope.
November 6, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Health
Are Americans concerned about their health? Yes, they are. Are they concerned enough to be proactive about staying healthy? Not so much. In fact, not really.
Good health habits start young and we all know that children watch adults very closely. Parents can hardly expect their children to live a healthy lifestyle if they themselves don’t. Yet, despite this, the message of healthy living starts early doesn’t seem to be getting out.
According to a study done by the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA),
The national survey revealed that more than three in five (61%) Americans incorrectly believe that the processes related to heart disease do not begin until adulthood.
Alarmingly, fewer than four in ten (38%) correctly surmise that people should be concerned about living a heart-healthy lifestyle to prevent a future heart attack beginning in childhood, and continuing throughout every life stage.
What more do healthcare professionals have to do to get the message across? Do we need Big Brother to start telling us what to do? There are already pushes to highly tax junk food and soda drinks. Some places are pushing the idea of tax breaks or financial health to promote physical activity. Will parents not do this unless there’s a financial incentive? Going for walks, playing in the park, using stairs instead of escalators or elevators are not cost-intensive.
Here is some of the information the research turned up:
• Less than a third of Americans follow a heart-healthy diet
• 70% of parents say they wouldn’t want their children to copy their eating habits
• 26% of the time, parents feel they don’t make good food choices, setting a bad example
• 44% say that sometimes they don’t make healthy food choices, setting a bad example
To learn more about this study and its findings, check out this press release: Americans concerned about heart health, but not proactive enough to prevent it.
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Image: Newscom.com
