(TND) — Americans are less healthy by multiple key metrics than they were before the pandemic, according to a new Gallup poll.
Gallup says its survey found more people are obese and have diabetes. And healthy eating habits have eroded since 2019.
Gallup’s latest poll shows 38.4% of American adults are obese. That is, they have a body mass index over 30.
Gallup based its BMI calculations off self-reported survey responses of height and weight.
The share of obese Americans has increased 6 points from 2019.
And it has steadily risen from 25.5% when calculated 15 years ago.
The Gallup obesity metric peaked at 39.9% last year.
Meanwhile, a new series-high of 13.6% told Gallup that they’ve been diagnosed with diabetes.
Gallup did not differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, but the vast majority of folks with diabetes have Type 2.
The share of Americans who say they eat healthy fell 5 points to 46.7% compared to 2019.
The largest decline, 9.2 points, was for those 30-44 years old. Only around a third of those folks said they eat healthy.
Fewer people say they’re eating their servings of fruits and vegetables.
Exercise habits have held steady. Roughly half of adults say they exercise 30 minutes or more at least three days a week.
But other survey responses saw declines, including those who say they feel active and those who say they have “near perfect” health.
Oklahoma State University dietitian Lauren Amaya said people might be having a hard time shaking unhealthy coping behaviors they picked up during the pandemic.
High food prices and a lack of access to healthy options is adding to the problem, she said. Amaya noted that food insecurity increased during the pandemic.
Remote work became more common during the pandemic, and she said that may also lend itself to a sedentary lifestyle.
Amaya said she understands the struggle as a mom who works long hours. It’s not easy to muster the time or energy to fix a healthy meal.
“Ideally, at a community level or at a local level, we’d be making changes,” she said. “But I think really at the individual level, people have to want to make these changes as well.”
Both diet and exercise are important for improving health.
Amaya said people are likely to see bigger impacts on weight with healthy eating habits, but physical activity is crucial for other aspects, such as cardiovascular health.
Preventing diabetes is important, but the risk goes up regardless as we get older.
So, even delaying the onset of Type 2 diabetes is important, she said.
“The biggest contributors to insulin resistance, which is really the precursor for Type 2 diabetes, is … abdominal fat and lack of physical activity,” Amaya said.