Health experts advise people seeking to live long, healthy lives
not to smoke, to watch their weight, not to drink too much, and to
get regular exercise. So, do people who smoke cigarettes, weigh too
much, drink alcohol, and rarely work out suffer from poorer health
than others do? Gallup's annual survey on health and healthcare
asks Americans to rate their physical health, and also asks them
about their smoking habits, alcohol consumption, exercise routines,
and personal weight descriptions.
To better understand the views of these different groups of
people, Gallup looked at combined data from its past two health
surveys in November 2003 and November 2004*. The overall results
show that 32% of all Americans rate their physical health as
excellent, while 49% rate it as good and 19% rate it as only fair
or poor. Although most Americans in all groups describe their
health as excellent or good, the data show some interesting
differences based on the percentage rating their health as
excellent.
Weight
Among people who say their weight is "about right," 43% rate
their health as excellent; only 15% of people who say they are
overweight rate their health as excellent. The overweight people
also are more likely than people in the about right category to say
their health is only fair or poor -- 25% vs. 15%, respectively.
People who say they are underweight are more likely than
overweight people to rate their health as excellent, but roughly
the same percentage of underweight and overweight people rate their
health as "only fair or poor."
Those who say their weight is about right are more likely than
overweight or underweight Americans to say they have experienced
days over the past month in which their physical health was "not
good." On average, Americans who say their weight is about right
experienced 2.9 days of ill health in the past month, compared with
4.6 days of ill health for those who are overweight and 4.7 days
for those who are underweight.
Exercise
Gallup's annual health survey asks Americans how many days per
week they take part in "vigorous sports or physical
activities for at least 20 minutes that cause large increases in
breathing or heart rate" or in "moderate sports or recreational
activities that cause slight increases in breathing or heart rate,
such as walking, gardening, or other similar activities." The
results are combined into four different categories in Gallup's
exercise index:
- High: Adults who are involved with vigorous activities
three to seven days a week
- Medium: Adults participating in vigorous physical
activities one or two days a week
- Low: Adults rarely involved in vigorous activities but
do partake in moderate activities three to seven days a week
- Sedentary: Adults who rarely participate in any
vigorous or moderate activities
Americans who exercise frequently and vigorously are much more
likely to rate their health as excellent than those working out
less often. Among those who score high on the exercise index, 45%
rate their physical health as excellent. This compares with 32% of
those with a score of medium, 28% of those with a score of low, and
20% of those who can be considered sedentary.
Those who score in the high or medium exercise ranges tend to
experience fewer days of poor health in a given month than those
who score in the low or sedentary range. Those in the high category
report an average of 2.6 days of poor health, compared with 2.9
days in the medium category, 3.5 days in the low category, and 5.4
days in the sedentary category.
Smoking
Smokers are slightly less likely than nonsmokers to rate their
physical health as excellent -- 25% vs. 34% respectively.
Similarly, smokers report more days of poor physical health over
the past month (4.8 days) than nonsmokers (3.4 days).
Alcohol Consumption
Regular drinkers -- who drink at least once a week -- are more
likely than infrequent drinkers to rate their health as excellent,
and less likely to rate their health as either fair or poor. Forty
percent of regular drinkers say their health is excellent, compared
with 33% who drink only on special occasions and 21% who never
drink.
A review of prior Gallup polling finds few differences in
personal health ratings between those who drink in moderation (one
to seven drinks per week), and those who drink a higher quantity of
alcohol per week (eight or more drinks).
Similarly, regular drinkers report fewer days of ill health
during a month than people who drink infrequently or not at all.
The average days of poor physical health in a given month among
weekly drinkers is 2.1, compared with 3.8 for infrequent drinkers
and 5.4 for nondrinkers.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 2,024
national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Nov. 3-5, 2003, and
Nov. 7-10, 2004. For results based on the total sample of national
adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of
sampling error is ±2 percentage points.
