Only 2.7% of US Adults Considered 'Healthy'

A new study has found that only 2.7% of adults in the United States meet the criteria for being classified as "healthy."

Researchers from Oregon State University, the University of Mississippi and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga used four metrics to determine whether or not participants were healthy: smoking, diet, exercise, and body-fat percentage. For the study, researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, paying close attention to the four aforementioned metrics and whether or not participants met them.

As noted by the study's author, Ellen Smit, the criteria used was reasonable, focusing on just 150 minutes of physical activity per week.

"This is pretty low, to have so few people maintaining what we would consider a healthy lifestyle," said Ellen Smit, one of the study's co-authors. "This is sort of mind boggling. There's clearly a lot of room for improvement."

So, how did participants fare from this study? Only 2.7% of participants satisfied all four metrics, meaning they got at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, consumed a healthy diet, had healthy body-fat percentage levels, and did not smoke. With that said, there were many other participants who met at least one of the criteria, but not all. For instance, 34% of the study's participants met one criteria; 37% met two; 16% met three; and 2.7% met all four.

This study just goes to show that the majority of adults do not follow the guidelines for good health. They may eat right and/or exercise, but they may also smoke and/or have an unhealthy body-fat percentage. For every 100 people analyzed in this study, less than three met all of the criteria for being healthy. That's a pretty abysmal number that attests to the problem of poor health. But it should also serve as a wake-up call to the countless number of men and women who fall under the category of the "majority."

If you're looking to improve your health and ward off disease, you should embrace all four criteria in your lifestyle. Not smoking is simple enough, and once you begin to exercise and eat right your body-fat percentage will begin to regulate itself.

What do you think of this study?