RSS FeedHealth care reform has dominated headlines in the U.S lately, but experts are suggesting that what may also need improvement is the understanding that individual Americans have about their own health.
Despite statistics showing that more than half of Americans are overweight, most are either in denial or aren’t willing to accept a state of ”poor” health, according to a survey provided by Mintel, a leading market research company.
Mintel found that seven out of 10 Americans say they are in “excellent” or “good” health and only a quarter believe they are overweight or obese. Yet, most respondents admitted to a sedentary lifestyle combined with poor eating habits.
These unhealthy choices over time are also what has ultimately led to a Sept. 14 report in Circulation—using data from U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys—showing that more than 90 percent of adults are considered at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
With these numbers looming, how can Americans have such false perceptions? Some health researchers offer that it’s because effective health education is lacking.
Just two years ago, for example, Mayo Clinic published a systemic review of studies providing direct evidence that when physicians, nutritionists and dietitians counseled patients about cardiovascular disease risk factors, their patients were more likely to improve their health by just diet and exercise.
The patients were educated on how to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors collectively termed metabolic syndrome. By definition, metabolic syndrome includes increased waist circumference, elevated fasting glucose, elevated triglycerides, reduced HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind), and elevated blood pressure.
A physician may explain to a patient, for example, that if he or she as three of the five symptoms listed in the previous paragraph, then he or she has the syndrome and is at a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The simple task of educating patients in this way can strongly motivate them to set high-priority goals that will substantially improve their health.
Patients can also be advised to make lifestyle changes directed at reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors. Most metabolic syndrome factors can be reduced simply through adopting an appropriate exercise and weight-control program.
Unfortunately, the data obtained from both Mintel’s survey and Circulation suggest few patients actually receive this kind of education from medical professionals. The reasons why this is so are speculative.
However, as Mintel analysts suggest, curbing horrific health trends faced in the U.S. today will not lie in the hands of doctors, but in the hands of individual Americans who decide to change their own behaviors for the long-term.
