How Healthy Are We

Childhood, adolescence, even the "twilight years" have been extensively researched and documented. But the vast terrain known as midlife—the longest segment of the life course—has remained uncharted. How physically and psychologically healthy are Americans at midlife? And why do some experience greater well-being than others? The MacArthur Foundation addressed these questions head-on by funding a landmark study known as "Midlife in the U.S.," or MIDUS. For the first time in a single study, researchers were able to integrate epidemiological, sociological, and psychological assessments, as well as innovative new measures to evaluate how work and family life influence each other. How Healthy Are We? presents the key findings from the survey in three sections: physical health, quality of life and psychological well-being, and the contexts (family, work) of the midlife. The topics covered by almost forty scholars in a wide variety of fields are vast, including everything from how health and well-being vary with socioeconomic standing, gender, race, or region of the country to how middle-aged people differ from younger or older adults in their emotional experience and quality of life. This health—the study measures not only health-the absence of illness—but also reports on the presence of wellness in middle-aged Americans. The culmination of a decade and a half of research by leading scholars, How Healthy Are We? will dramatically alter the way we think about health in middle age and the factors that influence it. Researchers, policymakers, and others concerned about the quality of midlife in contemporary America will welcome its insights. * Having a good life means having good relationships with others to almost 70% of those surveyed. Less than 40% mentioned their careers. * Reports of disruptive daily stressors vary by age, with young adults and those in midlife experiencing more than those in later adulthood. * Men have higher assessments of their physical and mental health than woman until the age of 60.

Childhood, adolescence, even the "twilight years" have been extensively researched and documented. But the vast terrain known as midlife—the longest segment of the life course—has remained uncharted. How physically and psychologically healthy are Americans at midlife? And why do some experience greater well-being than others? The MacArthur Foundation addressed these questions head-on by funding a landmark study known as "Midlife in the U.S.," or MIDUS. For the first time in a single study, researchers were able to integrate epidemiological, sociological, and psychological assessments, as well as innovative new measures to evaluate how work and family life influence each other. How Healthy Are We? presents the key findings from the survey in three sections: physical health, quality of life and psychological well-being, and the contexts (family, work) of the midlife. The topics covered by almost forty scholars in a wide variety of fields are vast, including everything from how health and well-being vary with socioeconomic standing, gender, race, or region of the country to how middle-aged people differ from younger or older adults in their emotional experience and quality of life. This health—the study measures not only health-the absence of illness—but also reports on the presence of wellness in middle-aged Americans. The culmination of a decade and a half of research by leading scholars, How Healthy Are We? will dramatically alter the way we think about health in middle age and the factors that influence it. Researchers, policymakers, and others concerned about the quality of midlife in contemporary America will welcome its insights. * Having a good life means having good relationships with others to almost 70% of those surveyed. Less than 40% mentioned their careers. * Reports of disruptive daily stressors vary by age, with young adults and those in midlife experiencing more than those in later adulthood. * Men have higher assessments of their physical and mental health than woman until the age of 60.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

It’s never too early to learn good habits. This book gently encourages children to practice healthy behaviors, like spending time with loved ones, getting enough sleep, and eating well every day.

Healthy people have habits that contribute to their overall vitality and wellness. The things they do give them resilience, mental clarity, boundless energy, proper body weight, and the ability to effectively deal with stress. In a nutshell, healthy habits contribute to a healthy life. When it comes to healthy habits, eating is powerful. What we eat, how we eat, and when we eat all matter. Mastering daily food habits is a tool we can use to create culinary resilience-the ultimate wellness benefit. When we give our bodies what they need to thrive, we are rewarded with a strong immune system, lower inflammation, and lots of feel-good hormones. We all need to trade habits that do not serve us for habits that do. When we understand that our food practices are opportunities to fuel our health and happiness, we can be more mindful of our choices. How Healthy People Eat is a kitchen companion filled with little bites of information to motivate, inspire, and empower you to develop culinary resilience by using food as your superpower. One morsel at a time we can change our wellness destiny. By creating better habits, we can reset our health to the factory settings with which we were born and eat in a way that supports looking, feeling, and being well. Think of this little book as the first bite to help you harness the nutritive power on the end of your fork.

"The Nation has lost sight of its public health goals and has allowed the system of public health to fall into 'disarray'," from The Future of Public Health. This startling book contains proposals for ensuring that public health service programs are efficient and effective enough to deal not only with the topics of today, but also with those of tomorrow. In addition, the authors make recommendations for core functions in public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances, and identify the level of government--federal, state, and local--at which these functions would best be handled.

How do communities protect and improve the health of their populations? Health care is part of the answer but so are environmental protections, social and educational services, adequate nutrition, and a host of other activities. With concern over funding constraints, making sure such activities are efficient and effective is becoming a high priority. Improving Health in the Community explains how population-based performance monitoring programs can help communities point their efforts in the right direction. Within a broad definition of community health, the committee addresses factors surrounding the implementation of performance monitoring and explores the "why" and "how to" of establishing mechanisms to monitor the performance of those who can influence community health. The book offers a policy framework, applies a multidimensional model of the determinants of health, and provides sets of prototype performance indicators for specific health issues. Improving Health in the Community presents an attainable vision of a process that can achieve community-wide health benefits.

Bioterrorism, drug-resistant disease, transmission of disease by global travel . . . there's no shortage of challenges facing America's public health officials. Men and women preparing to enter the field require state-of-the-art training to meet these increasing threats to the public health. But are the programs they rely on provide the high caliber professional training they require? Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? provides an overview of the past, present, and future of public health education, assessing its readiness to provide the training and education needed to prepare men and women to face 21st century challenges. Advocating an ecological approach to public health, the Institute of Medicine examines the role of public health schools and degree-granting programs, medical schools, nursing schools, and government agencies, as well as other institutions that foster public health education and leadership. Specific recommendations address the content of public health education, qualifications for faculty, availability of supervised practice, opportunities for cross-disciplinary research and education, cooperation with government agencies, and government funding for education. Eight areas of critical importance to public health education in the 21st century are examined in depth: informatics, genomics, communication, cultural competence, community-based participatory research, global health, policy and law, and public health ethics. The book also includes a discussion of the policy implications of its ecological framework.

“Small, easy steps for big, life-changing results—this book is genius.”—Jamie Oliver Do you want to improve your health, live and love more mindfully, and increase your happiness? This book makes it easy with 365 micro-actions—fun, achievable goals you can tackle right now. Take it on the go or keep it on your nightstand; do one action every day or dip in and out. With contributions by Jamie Oliver, Caroline Arnold, Dr. Tara Swart, and others Healthy, Happy You offers 365 micro-actions, one for each day of the year, grouped under four areas: Food: Prepare a Snack: Today, be ready for the snack attack—pack some veggie sticks or an apple before you head out. Mind: Do Something You Loved as a Kid: Recalling good memories is great for your mood. Even better, relive one! Move: Shopping Bag Weight Training: Ditch the cart, hold your shopping bags, and do some bicep curls as you walk. Love: Reach Out to Someone: We all have those friends we’ve wanted to call for a long time. Grab the phone! Find two minutes today for a Healthy, Happy YOU!

We hear that relationships are hard, but are they supposed to be THIS hard? Does every day feel stressful and it's only getting worse? Do you expect that relationships require you to sacrifice your happiness? Do you try to improve things, but nothing you do seems to help? Whether challenges appear in your relationships with a romantic partner, family members, friends, or coworkers, you have the power to change them from difficult to thriving-from unhealthy to healthy. At the core, you'll have to examine, heal, and transform the relationship with yourself. Ted Smith shares his personal experience navigating unhealthy relationships with a romantic partner and with himself-plus the healing and transformation that followed-to help readers make positive changes to the relationships in their own lives. In this book, you will learn how to: Recognize and understand characteristics of unhealthy relationships with others Identify areas of opportunity in the relationship with yourself Navigate the healing journey Transform relationships with yourself and others to be happier and healthier Being happy with your relationships, and with yourself, is possible. Allow Ted to help you understand how to create this for yourself.