Beliefs about healthy lifestyle clash with behaviour

Saturday, 7 May 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

You’re never too young to reduce your risk of stroke-and you may need to start by changing your lifestyle

According to a recent American Stroke Association survey:

nNine out of 10 Americans between ages 18 and 24 believe they’re living healthy lifestyles and want to live well into their late 90s. Yet most eat too much fast food, drink too many alcoholic and sugar-sweetened beverages and engage in other behaviours that could put them at risk for stroke.

* Most of those surveyed said they want to maintain quality health throughout their lives. Yet one-third don’t believe engaging in healthy behaviours now could affect their risk for stroke in the future.

* Eight in 10 people between ages 25 and 44 years old also believe they’re engaging in healthy lifestyles and hope to live to be 90 and beyond. While they’re more likely to engage in healthy behaviours than 18- to 24-year-olds, they could also improve.

“This survey shows the dangerous disconnect that many young Americans have about how their behaviours affect their risks for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases,” said Ralph Sacco, M.D., neurologist and president of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. “Starting healthy behaviours at a young age is critical to entering middle age in good shape.”

People who make healthy lifestyle choices lower their risk of having a first stroke by as much as 80 percent compared with those who don’t, according to the American Heart Association. Healthy behaviours include eating a low-fat diet high in fruits and vegetables, drinking alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages only in moderation, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy body weight and not smoking.

“Young adults need to make a connection between healthy behaviours and a healthy brain and heart,” Sacco said. “People need to think in terms of striving for ideal health as well as surviving and thriving if a stroke occurs. An easier way to remember this is: Strive, Survive, Thrive.”

(HealthNewsDigest.com)