How are you feeling? A recent study revealed that 53 percent of women say their overall health is in poor shape, so it might be safe to assume you’re not feeling so hot.
A study called A Fragile Nation in Poor Health conducted by the health communications firm TeleVox, recently polled 1,015 American across the country about how they feel about their health. More than half of the women polled say they feel unhealthy and one in five nationwide say they are struggling to be healthy.
Why might women feel this way? The study chalks it up to the fact that most women are the caretakers of their family. They have to make sure the kids get to school on time, make sure dinner’s on the table, all while also working a job outside the home. And now it is even more common that women will be taking care of aging parents or other family members. They take care of everyone but themselves. This “all about everyone else” lifestyle is one reason that obesity, smoking and chronic diseases — including depression — are steadily increasing in women.
The Women’s Heart Foundation reports that 8.6 million women worldwide die from heart disease each year, and that 8 million women in the U.S. are living with heart disease. According to a 2007 study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 60 percent of women in the U.S. are obese. The worst part is, a lot of these conditions on the rise are preventable, but 8 out of 10 women admit they don’t follow treatment plans they’ve been given by their physician exactly as prescribed.
But while women are so busy helping everyone around them, all they want is a little help themselves. Women said if they were given reminders via email or phone from their doctors they would be able to keep better track of their health. A friendly reminder or two might not be such a bad thing, especially since 52 percent of men surveyed think they’re in good shape and we now know how much they rely on us ladies. The study though simply states men are living in denial and should also take better care of themselves. Is it better to live in a fantasy world? The survey says, not when it comes to your health.
