Good and Bad Health Habits in the U.S.: Drinkers Outnumber Exercisers

Participation in sport is associated with a with a 20—40% reduction in all-cause mortality compared with non-participation. Exercise might also be considered as a fifth vital sign, according to the Lancet: http://goo.gl/gyxYf

A CDC study showed that six in 10 American adults were regular drinkers in 2005-2007, but only about three in 10 regularly exercised.

Since 1997, rates of cigarette smoking have declined by several percentage points, rates of obesity have climbed, and rates of alcohol use, exercise, and sleep have remained relatively unchanged.

Men were more likely than women to be drinkers (68% vs. 55%).

The more educated people were, the more likely they were to drink. 74% of people who have a graduate degree were drinkers, compared with 44% of people with a high school diploma.

Adults with higher levels of education were less likely to be smokers, be physically inactive, and be obese and to sleep six hours or less per night.

Twitter comments:

@kcb704: "The more educated people were, the more likely they were to drink." http://goo.gl/JDv1 // work hard, play hard..

@BrettLinda: Hold on... good or bad? RT @DrVes Good and Bad Health Habits in U.S.: drinkers outnumber exercisers http://goo.gl/JDv1

References:

Good and Bad Health Habits in U.S. WebMD.

Images source: Wikipedia, Free Documentation License.

Cleverest women are the heaviest drinkers, according to Telegraph newspaper

Not sure if this is the best choice for a headline... This is the original source: Education, alcohol use and abuse among young adults in Britain. Soc Sci Med. 2010 Jul.

The findings come from a study carried out at the London School of Economics in which researchers tracked the lives of thousands of 34-year-old women and men, all born in the UK during the same week in 1970.

The report states: "The more educated women are, the more likely they are to drink alcohol on most days and to report having problems due to their drinking patterns.

"The better-educated appear to be the ones who engage the most in problematic patterns of alcohol consumption."

They may have more active social lives or work in male-dominated workplaces with a drinking culture. As girls, they may have grown up in middle-class families and seen their parents drink regularly.

According to the researchers, higher educational attainment is associated with increased odds of daily alcohol consumption and problem drinking. The relationship is stronger for females than males. Individuals who achieved high educational test scores in childhood are at a significantly higher risk of abusing alcohol across all dimensions.

References:
Cleverest women are the heaviest drinkers. Telegraph.

Education, alcohol use and abuse among young adults in Britain. Huerta MC, Borgonovi F. Soc Sci Med. 2010 Jul;71(1):143-51. Epub 2010 Mar 31.

Image source: Wikipedia.