(KANSAS CITY) December 27, 2011 — Although 58 percent of American adults have resolved to make improvements in their health this New Year, more than half say they often find reasons not to exercise, according to an American Heart Association survey. Excuses range from too much stress at work, to having nothing to wear to the gym, to simple procrastination.
The American Heart Association suggests an easy two step approach to staying on track with your health focused New Year’s Resolution:
- Step 1– assess your current health
- Step 2 – use free motivating tools to achieve your goals.
“The largest predictors of heart disease are conditions that you may not know that you have,” said Cardiologist Jeffrey Bissing, DO with Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. “High blood pressure and diabetes often have no associated symptoms, yet; if left untreated can have very significant consequences on your health and will put you at a very high risk of a heart attack and stroke. A routine health exam could assess these, start treatment and reduce your risk substantially.”
For the first time, the American Heart Association has defined “ideal cardiovascular health,” identifying seven health factors and lifestyle behaviors that support heart health. Ideal cardiovascular health for adults is defined by the presence of these seven health measures, known as Life’s Simple 7:
- Never smoked or quit more than one year ago
- Body mass index less than 25 kg/m2
- Physical activity of at least 150 minutes (moderate) or 75 minutes (vigorous) each week
- Four to five of the key components of a healthy diet consistent with current American Heart Association guideline recommendations
- Total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL
- Blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg
- Fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL
Assess your current health by visiting your doctor and utilizing these measures so you can set a realistic New Year’s Resolution. Take the American Heart Association’s My Life Check, a short assessment to easily identify where you fall on the health spectrum. Visit www.heart.org/MyLifeCheck to take this free simply survey. You’ll gain a better understanding on your healthy priorities, and be armed with additional tools that offer specific action steps to improve the measurements and track personal progress.
Now onto Step 2…
Once you know your area of weakness (diet, exercise, lack of sleep, etc.), put the My Life Check suggestions into action. In fact, if you are a coach potato addicted to social media, you can start there! The American Heart Association has introduced the Daily Walking Guide, a FREE social media application that can get more Americans active and help them keep their health and physical activity resolutions. Nearly half of all Americans use online tools to track their health.
The Daily Walking Guide is the ideal tool to stay committed to New Year’s resolutions. Adults spend 164 more hours per year at work than we did 20 years ago, and for many Americans that means lots of time on computers. The application allows you to keep track of your physical activity, see progress, find accountability and get great encouragement.
The Daily Walking Guide can be downloaded and embedded into a variety of sites including Facebook, Windows Live and iGoogle. Users get started with a quiz that generates 12 weeks worth of customized walking plans, a private journal section that lets users record their walks and reference archived exercises, and keep motivated with daily inspirational messages and heart-health tips.
Physically active people reduce their cardiovascular disease risk by 30 percent. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, like brisk walking, each week. Download the Daily Walking Guide at StartWalkingNow.org.
CONTACT:
Ciara O’Brien Murray
Office: 913-652-1966
Mobile: 563-599-9557
Ciara.Murray@heart.org
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