Study Finds Too Many Americans Drink and Smoke
Especially on St. Patrick’s Day, we’re reminded of just how much our country likes to drink, smoke, and not exercise.
-Faye Brennan
With today being St. Patrick’s Day, Americans will be indulging in celebrations that include one of our favorite vices: alcohol. According to The National Health Interview Survey, which surveyed 79,000 adults over three years, 61 percent of Americans drink.
The study also found that about one in five Americans – or 20 percent — smoke and that only 31 percent of us exercise enough to reap any health benefits. In sum, we’re definitely not as healthy as we should be.
According to health statistician Charlotte Schoenborn from the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “There has been no progress at all in increasing physical activity since we started doing this report in 1997… We are a long way from where the health experts want us to be with smoking.”
Certainly, today won’t be the day when Americans start to reverse these bad habits, but these statistics may prove to be a helpful push in the right direction to get healthy. (USA Today)