- 4,000 Britons were surveyed to paint a picture of Mr and Mrs Average
- National Health Report reveals we fail to follow 7 out of 8 health guidelines
- Mr Average eats 3.3 portions of his ‘5 a day’ and has a BMI of 26.2
- Mrs Average eats 3.5 portions a day but has a higher-than average BMI
- Experts say Britons are aware of the healthy changes we should make
- But we deliberately ignore the guidelines set out for us
- Almost three quarters of people think that UK as a nation is unhealthy
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We are better off and have access to more medicines than ever before.
But new research shows we’re a nation embroiled in a health crisis, wilfully neglecting our wellbeing and expecting the already overburdened NHS to pick up the pieces.
The study, which looks at the the average health of men and women in the UK, reveals some alarming statistics about our diet and lifestyle, dubbed by experts a ‘ticking timebomb’.Â
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The UK National Health Report, from Beneden Healthcare, reveals the vast majority of us fail to follow basic health guidelines, leading to a population that is overweight, overtired, unfit, poorly nourished and dehydrated
The UK National Health Report reveals that the vast majority of us fail to follow seven out of eight basic health guidelines, leading to a population that is overweight, overtired, unfit, poorly nourished and dehydrated.
We’re constantly being told that to be ‘healthy’. We should eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, have a body mass index (BMI) of between 18 and 25, drink 1.5-2 litres of water a day and aim for seven hours of sleep a night.
Smoking is obviously out, while men should drink no more than 21 units of alcohol a week and women 14, according to official Government guidelines.
And when it comes to exercise, we should all be doing at least 150 minutes of (at least) moderate (if not high) intensity physical activity each week.
But in reality, it seems things are very different, the report from Benenden Health shows.Â
It was compiled after questioning 4,000 people across the UK to paint a portrait of
what Mr and Mrs Average look like from a health perspective.
When
it comes to men, Mr Average eats 3.3 portions of his ‘5 a day’, has a
BMI of 26.2; only drinks 953ml (less than a litre) of water a day and
sleeps for 6.4 hours a night.
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