Do you know if you're healthy or not?

Catalyst Healthcare Research released a study that gives interesting and worrisome insight into the health of Americans.  1,500 people between the ages of 18 and 65 participated in the study.  When asked what the number one threat to public health in the United States is, 60% responded with obesity.  It is good to know that people are aware of the obesity epidemic and that there are significant health concerns associated with it.  However, the study also provides some alarming figures as well.  Of the people surveyed over 60% are overweight or obese.  Among those classified as overweight or obese 61% said they are in good health, 25% said they are in fair health, and 11% said they were in excellent health.  Only 3% of obese or overweight respondents stated their health was poor.  These results are puzzling because people are acknowledging the serious health concerns associated with being obese but are not considering themselves subject to those concerns.

Here's some of the other numbers from the survey:
- Among overweight participants: 53% don't exercise at all (yikes!), 17% do some walking, 30% perform vigorous exercise.
- Of those that said they are more fit than last year, only 10% said they weigh less and exercise more than the prior year. 
- 30% of participants said they gained weight in the last year. 
- The number one source participants turn to for health and wellness info is the Internet (56%), followed by friends and family (48%), physicians (31%), coaches or trainers (11%), Insurance companies (8%), their employer (5%).

Conclusions:
From this study it seems that people tend to believe they are healthy regardless of the actual amount of physical activity they engage in.  It is also evident that awareness of the health issues associated with obesity and their increasing prevalence does not equate to accurate personal evaluation and perception of personal health.  More simply put, people hear about what is not healthy, but they don't really know how healthy or unhealthy they are. 

We encourage you to find out the current state of your health.  Take the time to visit your physician so they can help you determine if you need to make changes in your lifestyle or address existing concerns.