|
STORIES ON LEISURE
< Back to main Stories on Leisure page
Survey: Americans Feel Lifestyle Has Little Effect On Their Health
(NAPSA) You may think you have
no control over developing cancer,
diabetes, heart disease and stroke-but
guess again.
The American Cancer Society,
American Diabetes Association and
American Heart Association want you
to know that you DO have some
control over your risk of developing
these diseases, even though a survey
conducted by the organizations
revealed that most Americans believe
they DON'T have any control.
The survey-designed
to examine Americans'
awareness, attitudes and
behaviors regarding
chronic disease riskshows
that while most
people said that they
knew about the diseases
that kill the most people
in this country, the majority
feel that there is not
much they can do about
it.
Seven out of ten Americans think
they have only some or little control
over their chances of developing
cancer, diabetes, heart disease or
stroke. They do not seem to acknowledge
that the "everyday" health choices
they make can have a tremendous
impact on their risk for developing disease.
Healthy choices are seen as "too
difficult" or "too much work," the
study found.
People are twice as concerned about
outside threats to their safety as they
are about factors that are threats to
their health-factors they can personally
influence. People will take steps to
protect themselves from outside risks
such as burglary (by locking their
doors, for instance) or car accidents
(by wearing a seat belt), but they are
less likely to act to improve their own
health risk by getting regular exercise,
controlling portion sizes, and limiting
high-fat foods.
To address this problem, the
American Cancer Society,
American Diabetes
Association and American
Heart Association are promoting
"Everyday Choices
For A Healthier Life™,"
a joint initiative whose goal
is to improve disease
prevention and early detection
and to increase public
awareness of the importance
of healthy lifestyles
in reducing the risk of chronic disease.
The three organizations jointly recommend
four basic steps that people can
take to help protect themselves from
the four major diseases:
- Eat right to maintain a healthy
weight;
- Be physically active;
- Don't smoke; and
- See your doctor regularly
For more information, visit
www.everydaychoices.org or call
1-866-399-6789.
|
