Ohio State survey finds Americans struggle to maintain healthy habits during the holiday season
The holiday season is a time for joy and celebration but many Americans admit the endless flurry of activities make it difficult to eat healthy, exercise and get adequate rest
2023-12-04
(Press-News.org) EMBARGOED UNTIL MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023 AT 12:01 a.m. EST
The holiday season is a time for joy and celebration but many Americans admit the endless flurry of activities make it difficult to eat healthy, exercise and get adequate rest, according to a new survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said they overindulge in food, nearly 45% said they take a break from exercise and more than half report feeling tired and have less time for themselves. Plus, a third admit they drink more alcohol during the holidays.
“Holiday travel, activities with friends and family, and trying to get a bunch of things done can cause people to lose track of their healthy habits,” said Barbara Bawer, M.D., family medicine physician at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “If one healthy habit drops off, it can affect other areas very quickly.”
To make it through the holiday season with healthy habits intact, Bawer suggests trying to stick to a normal routine as much as possible while giving yourself some grace.
“Once you're out of a routine, which typically happens around the holidays, it’s really hard to get back on track partly because the motivation is no longer there,” said Bawer.
When the invitations start to pile up and decadent menus feels tempting, Bawer offers this advice, “Remember that it’s OK to say no.”
To keep healthy habits in check, try the following:
Diet: When it comes to sustaining healthy eating habits, it’s important to plan ahead. If you have an evening event, don’t starve yourself all day. Eat a high protein, low carb meal earlier in the day so you don’t overeat. You can indulge with a favorite dish or dessert but it’s OK to say no to sampling every entrée or treat so you’re not eating excess calories at each event.
Exercise: Try to keep the same exercise schedule. If an obligation prevents you from going to a fitness center or going for a run, be flexible. It’s OK to say no to the gym and consider doing an activity with family and friends that keeps you moving like going for a walk or playing a game of basketball.
Sleep: Go to sleep and wake up at your normal times, even when traveling. Limit the use of supplements like melatonin, as long-term use can disrupt healthy sleep-wake cycles. It’s OK to say no to some invitations if you feel like you’re going to overextend yourself.
Alcohol: People may drink more during the holidays but binge drinking is never a healthy choice. Binge drinking is when a man consumes five drinks or a woman consume four drinks in one setting. It’s OK to say no to excessive drinking. If you do drink, try to stick to the recommended two drinks for men or one drink for women. Avoid drinking on an empty stomach and drink plenty of water.
“Small, consistent changes and slowly adding to them can help you reach your health goals,” Bawer said.
Survey results and methodology
This survey was conducted on behalf of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center by SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from Oct. 20-23 among a sample of 1,007 respondents. The survey was conducted via web (n=977) and telephone (n=30) and administered in English. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data are weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 or older.
###
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2023-12-04
SYDNEY, Dec. 4, 2023 – An estimated quarter of adults and two-thirds of children have strong fears around needles, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet, public health depends on people being willing to receive vaccines, which are often administered by a jab.
Darcy Dunn-Lawless, a doctoral student at the University of Oxford’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, is investigating the potential of a painless, needle-free vaccine delivery by ultrasound. He will share the recent advancements in this promising technique as part of Acoustics 2023 Sydney, running ...
2023-12-03
University of Queensland-led research shows being overweight can impair the body’s antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection but not to the protection offered by vaccination.
Research lead, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences PhD candidate Marcus Tong, said the finding built on the team’s existing research on how COVID-19 affects people who are overweight.
“We’ve previously shown that being overweight – not just being obese – increases the severity of SARS-CoV-2,” Mr Tong said.
“But this ...
2023-12-02
The recent publication in Science by Mogila, Tamulaitiene et al. represents a continuation of the successful scientific research conducted by Gintautas Tamulaitis’ group. In this study, the Vilnius University researchers using bioinformatic analysis, biochemical, and structural studies characterized a novel family of effector proteins, named Cami1. They showed that when a virus attacks a bacterium, CRISPR-Cas10 signaling molecules activate Cami1 - a ribosome-dependent ribonuclease. “Activated Cami1 cleaves mRNAs that are involved in protein synthesis, thereby inhibiting cell growth. This allows the bacterium to save resources and prevents production ...
2023-12-02
A major clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has found that vitamin D supplements do not increase bone strength or prevent bone fractures in children with vitamin D deficiency. The findings challenge widely held perceptions relating to the effects of vitamin D on bone health.
Around one-third of children have at least one fracture before the age of 18. This is a major global health issue, as childhood fractures can lead to life years of disability and/or poor quality of life. The potential for vitamin D supplements to improve bone strength has attracted growing interest in recent years, based ...
2023-12-01
Societies and political structures, like the humans they serve, appear to become more fragile as they age, according to an analysis of hundreds of pre-modern societies. A new study, which holds implications for the modern world, provides the first quantitative support for the theory that the resilience of political states decreases over time.
Triggers of societal collapse have been well studied and vary from conquest and coups to earthquakes and droughts. This new study shows that pre-modern states faced a steeply increasing risk of collapse within the first two centuries after they ...
2023-12-01
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Similar to a burglar breaking a window to get into a house, Indiana University researchers have discovered a previously unknown process by which pathogens enter a cell with physical force, breaching the body's immune defenses that prevent infection.
The work, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, introduces a potential game-changer in the fight against intracellular pathogens responsible for causing devastating infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria and chlamydia. These diseases are notoriously ...
2023-12-01
Texas has the second-most bridges in the United States after California, 30% of which do not have sufficient height, width or capacity to handle the increasing volume and type of traffic using them.
Nur Yazdani, a civil engineering professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, has received a three-year, $997,275 grant from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to evaluate the performance of selected deteriorating and aging highway bridges. His approach includes non-destructive evaluation (NDE), on-site load testing and computer simulation to help engineers determine the current condition of bridges ...
2023-12-01
It first appeared as a glowing blob from ground-based telescopes and then vanished completely in images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, the ghostly object has reappeared as a faint, yet distinct galaxy in an image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Astronomers with the COSMOS-Web collaboration have identified the object AzTECC71 as a dusty star-forming galaxy. Or, in other words, a galaxy that’s busy forming many new stars but is shrouded in a dusty veil that’s hard to see through — from nearly 1 billion years after the Big Bang. ...
2023-12-01
A University of Texas at Arlington civil engineer is leading a statewide initiative to use more accurate forecasting to guide reservoir storage and release to improve water supply reliability and reduce flood damages.
Yu Zhang, a UT Arlington associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, is heading a new project—“Advancing Forecast-Informed Drought Planning for the West Gulf Region Through Integration of Climate Forecasts and Predictions of Reservoir Water Balance Predictions”—funded by the National ...
2023-12-01
Botanist Denis Conover does not have to go far to study the growing problem of invasive plants.
During an autumn stroll outside his office at the University of Cincinnati, the biology professor pointed out numerous examples of nonnative, invasive species in campus landscaping.
“This is winged euonymus, otherwise known as burning bush. And here is Chinese silver grass. It’s a popular ornamental, but the seeds are dispersed by the wind,” he said.
And there were many others: English ivy, wintercreeper, Callery pear.
For his latest study published in the journal Ecological Restoration, he and his students examined the impact ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Ohio State survey finds Americans struggle to maintain healthy habits during the holiday season
The holiday season is a time for joy and celebration but many Americans admit the endless flurry of activities make it difficult to eat healthy, exercise and get adequate rest
