What You Do Today Will Change Your Life Forever

It’s true. The things you do today will have an impact on your future. This is why we invest our money, to save for the future. It’s why we choose a certain college over others. Over time, the things we prioritize change as we age: we may not think about little things like what we eat daily and whether we exercise as important when we’re young and healthy. We’re usually more concerned with starting our career, paying our bills, and adjusting to adulthood. But we need to invest in our health just like we would in our money, to change your life.

Here are some reasons why:

One survey found some startling figures when it came to young American adults and their take on their health. In this survey, 1,250 adults ages 18 to 44 were asked to consider their level of health. Most of those surveyed stated they wished to have long and healthy lives, however, some of the health behaviors indicated in this survey suggest otherwise:

• 15 percent of college age adults and 23 percent of 25-34-year-olds say they smoke.
• 36 percent of those aged 25 to 34 say they aren’t concerned about heart disease or stroke.
• Only 22 percent of “older young adults” — those aged 35 to 44 — said they are not worried about heart disease, heart attack, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes or stroke.
• All of the age groups surveyed said they ranked stroke as the least of their worries in terms of personal health threats.

“Even though young people may think they are in good health, the national statistics don’t show that,” says Dr. Ralph Sacco, President of the AHA/ASA , “less than 1% of young adults in the U.S. meet what is considered ideal cardiovascular health.”

Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, comments on this study, saying that young adults are “insulated against the adverse effects of their less healthy behaviors by their youth” in a way. Often times, say Katz, we don’t correlate our unhealthy behaviors– overeating, excessive drinking, smoking, inactivity,– with the health risks we see everyday in our parents’ generation. “But pay later, they will. And, with ever-more chronic disease [arising] at an ever-younger age, later comes sooner, and sooner.”

Right now, the U.S. population has a higher percentage of adults suffering from chronic health problems; heart disease, diabetes, obesity, than ever before. The key to the prevention of chronic disease is by looking at the word “Chronic”–over a period of time unhealthy behaviors have a tremendous impact on our lifelong health. If you wish to stay healthy throughout your lifetime, start investing in your health by monitoring your habits today so you can change your life forever.