The results are in, and the survey says…. Latinos have the worst eating habits of almost all other groups surveyed for a national poll about Americans’ health habits, reports Gallup.
The Americans’ Healthy Behaviors Index, a national annual poll conducted by Gallup, looked at adults’ health habits in the past three months and found that they were worse than habits from the same months last year—and that Latino rates were even worse than most adults when it comes to healthy eating.
For the poll, Gallup and Healthways asked 1,000 Americans each day about their health behaviors, including whether they smoke, how often they worked out, if they ate “healthy” and on how many days each week they consumed five or more servings of fruits and vegetables.
Gallup found that the overall index score was 63.8, down from 65.2 for the same month last year. In particular, fewer Americans reported healthy eating in May of this year than last year, 66.2 compared with 68.2. That means that 4.5 million fewer Americans ate veggie heavy diets or hit the recommended fruit goals during that month. And Latinos fared even worse.
The poll found that less than half of Latinos were likely to eat fruits and vegetables at least four days a week, less than any other group. Only 47.9 percent of Latinos reported having at least five servings, compared with 56 percent of white adults, 57 percent of Asians and 58 percent of African Americans. The Latino scores are the greatest one-year decline in this area.
While May typically kicks off a summer of better eating and smarter health choices for all Americans, Gallup is seeing a reverse in the trend. This may because higher gas prices and a harsh economy are keeping consumers away from the often higher priced produce section of grocery stores.
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