Healthy habits on the decline in the U.S.

Exercise regularly. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Maintain a healthy weight. Don't smoke. Drink alcohol in moderation.

How often have you heard these health messages? Hundreds of times, I'd wager. Now, how often have you heard these messages and actually made changes to your life? If you're like most Americans, probably not too often. According to a new study published in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, few adults ages 40 to 74 have adopted these basic health-promoting habits—and their numbers are dropping.

Researchers gathered data on people's health behaviors from a large survey called NHANES (short for National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). NHANES regularly polls thousands of Americans about their eating habits, levels of exercise, history of smoking and many other health markers. Participants also have a physical exam.

Using this data, researchers compared people's adherence to these five healthy habits during two time periods: 1988 to 1994, and 2001 to 2006. Overall, adherence was far from stellar. But perhaps most alarming was the drop in healthy habits over the study's 18-year span. Here's a summary:

• Exercising 12 or more times a month: This dropped from 53 percent of adults exercising regularly to 43 percent.
• Eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day: This dropped from 42 percent of adults to 26 percent.
• Maintaining a healthy weight: The percentage of obese adults rose from 28 percent to 36 percent.
• Smoking: This didn't change over the study period, with around 26 percent of adults smoking.
• Drinking alcohol in moderation: This increased from 40 percent to 51 percent of adults. Moderate alcohol consumption was defined as up to one drink a day for women and up to two for men. This is considered a healthy level, so this was a positive trend.
• Adhering to all five healthy habits: This dropped from 15 percent of adults to only 8 percent.

The researchers also looked separately at people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or risk factors for these conditions. These are all health problems that can be improved by adopting a healthier lifestyle, so you might expect this group would be more likely to adhere to these habits. Surprisingly, the study found otherwise, with no real difference between the groups.

This study has some weakness, such as relying on people to self-report what they ate and how much they exercised, and it didn't look at other factors that can affect health, such as intake of salt, fat, and certain nutrients. But as a snapshot of people's lifestyles through the lens of these basic habits, it should be fairly accurate. And the picture isn't pretty.

What you need to know. So why are we living less healthy lives, even as more studies show the benefits of doing otherwise? That's a tough one. The researchers mention a couple trends that may be playing a role, such as people exercising less because they're driving more. But other factors are undoubtedly at work here as well. This made me wonder: Have we heard certain health advice so often that we no longer really hear it? And how can these basic health messages become more compelling, so that people take notice and take action to change to their lives for the better? Any thoughts?

—Sophie Ramsey, patient editor

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Read more on how simple lifestyle changes can reduce health risks and take a look at the 10 health perks of exercise.