(HealthDay is the new name for HealthScoutNews.)
THURSDAY, June 26, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- If you exercise regularly, eat well and manage stress, congratulations. But, you're in the minority, a new poll commissioned by the nation's family doctors finds.
For Americans overall, the grade for such health behaviors is about a C-minus, says Dr. Michael O. Fleming, a family physician in Shreveport, La., and president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians, which commissioned the health behavior poll and just released the findings.
A full 98 percent of the 1,000 adults polled admit they have at least one of the unhealthy habits they were asked about -- such as smoking, not exercising enough, handling stress poorly or eating a less-than-healthful diet.
Among the findings:
- Twenty-six percent said they smoke at least sometimes, and half of these people acknowledged it's a harmful habit.
- Only 48 percent said they maintain a healthy weight.
- About 42 percent of women and 31 percent of men said they aren't doing well at stress management.
- Thirty-two percent said they don't limit dietary fat.
- Only 25 percent said they work out vigorously five or more hours a week.
Of course, people have plenty of excuses. Thirteen percent said they don't have time to watch their fat intake, and 47 percent gave no reason for not watching it. When asked why they continue a habit that's unhealthy, 24 percent said they lack willpower or self-control, and another 14 percent said stress was to blame.
Although Fleming is a bit dismayed by the findings, he says he's not surprised. "To most of us who practice every day, this is what we see," he says of his fellow family physicians.
And while the poll did not track gender differences in health behavior, Fleming sees plenty of them in his private practice. When it comes to what doctors call "risk factor management" -- doing such things as managing blood pressure if you have a family history of heart problems -- women do much better, he says.
"Women who have a family history of breast cancer are very, very good about coming back in for their regular exam," he says.
"Men seem to have this 'air of invincibility' thing," he adds. One exception: When a man hears of someone about his own age who has a health problem, he tends to pay attention, Fleming says.
Soon after a well-known older man in Fleming's own community had a heart attack on the golf course and died, Fleming says he was bombarded with calls from male patients. "I saw everyone that age who played golf," he says.
Most discouraging to family physicians, he says, are patients who "avoid the obvious." He cites the example of people at risk for diabetes who don't heed his advice to lose weight, even though obesity is a risk factor. Or smokers who don't quit and then are diagnosed with lung cancer decades later.
Instead of focusing on improving one habit at a time, Fleming says he suggests paying attention to several habits and starting slowly. "I might recommend patients begin by walking 30 minutes a day and move that up gradually to 45. Begin by walking three times a week, then increase it to four or five times."
For weight loss, "I recommend they see someone [such as a dietitian] who can talk about the importance of food preparation," he says. And he points patients to organized programs, such as Weight Watchers, because he thinks it's easier to lose weight with the support that such a program provides.
"If they have smoked for a long time, I would certainly recommend a medication [to help them give it up]," he adds.
So how can Americans raise that dismal C-minus grade?
"The main thing is to begin to take things seriously," Fleming says. People must realize the importance of managing risk factors for disease, he says, or they'll pay the price -- probably sooner than they think.
More information
To read about common fitness myths, visit the American Council on Exercise Web site. For nutrition tips, check out the American Academy of Family Physicians.
