Americans Still Making Unhealthy Choices: CDC

The overall health of Americans isn't improving much, with about six in 10 people either overweight or obese and large numbers engaging in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, heavy drinking or not exercising, a new government report shows. Released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report found Americans continuing to make many of the lifestyle choices that have led to soaring rates of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, including the following: About six of 10 adults drink, including an increase in those who reported episodic heavy drinking of five or more drinks in one day during the previous year. Twenty percent of adults smoke, and less than one-half of smokers attempted to quit in the past year. Only one in five adults met federal guidelines for both aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening exercise. One in three was completely inactive when it came to any leisure-time aerobic activity. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_137050.html