Happy New Year 2025!
Recent health surveys looked at Americans’ process of New Years' Resolutions. Only 37% of Americans said they made a New Years' Resolution in 2023, and 87% of them saying they were likely to keep it through the year. The truth is: making real change is hard! The survey showed the average New Years' Resolution lasts only 3.7 months. 53% had discontinued their resolution at 3 months, and only 6% of people continued their commitment after 12 months!
What are the most common New Years' Resolutions?
For 2024 the most common were:
- Improved fitness (48%)
- Improved finances (38%)
- Improved mental health (36%)
- Lose weight (34%)
- Improved diet (32%)
- More time for loved ones (25%)
- Stop Smoking (12%)
- Drink Less alcohol (3%)
So, Why do we make New Years' Resolutions?
- 62% say they feel pressured (women 64%, men 60%).
- 80% of respondents feel confident in their ability to reach their goals, and only 6% lack this confidence (men 82%, women 79%)
- 86% of respondents say their new year’s resolution will have a positive impact beyond the year (but only 6% actually succeed in this).
- Only 20% of respondents said they keep themselves accountable when it comes to sticking to their goals, and those that do rely on phone apps for accountability
So what is the disconnect??
The fact is lasting, sustainable health behavior change is really hard!!
How can we improve our rate of success in making change?
- Be very aware about the risks you have by not changing; Fear is your friend in this scenario – I suggest educating yourself about the dangers of not making your change. Don't downplay the risk, be realistic and acknowledge the risk. These common risks are associated with many diseases and an early death.
- Overweight and obese
- Sedentary, inactive lifestyle
- High blood pressure
- Smoking, excessive alcohol
- High blood sugar
- Poor diet (high in sodium, low in fruits/vegetables/nuts and seeds)
- Make realistic and achievable goals that you can reasonably commit to for the rest of your life – Behavior change is only truly effective if you can sustain it – don't start by saying "I am never eating sugar again!" - this is not realistic, instead you could say "80% of the time (5-6 days per week) I will eat a healthy diet with no processed sugars." This is much more realistic and likely to be sustainable.
- Start small – People often give up because the change is too extreme and overwhelming – For example: if you love to drink 4 sugary sodas each day, a realistic goal might be to commit to only 2 per day – If you can sustain that change for a lifetime, you will consume 280 fewer calories/78 fewer grams of sugar per day. That one small change translates to 8400 fewer calories per month (a possible weight loss of 2-3 lbs), if you can sustain it you could see a 14-28 lb weight loss over a year!! The power is in reasonable changes that you can sustain.
- Truly commit for life, and be accountable – Decide in your mind, take it very seriously, to commit to the change, and be resolute. Include loved ones as accountability partners you can lean on. The key to change is sustainability. Some studies show it takes 120-180 days to make a behavior change permanent. A small change sustained for 6 months is a great success! You can then slowly add more small changes, that you are committed to and can sustain for a lifetime.
- Be kind to yourself – You are infinitely valuable, and your health and well-being are worth protecting! If you have a bad day and break your commitment, DO NOT GIVE UP!! But love yourself enough to commit again. Falling off the wagon is a normal part of the recovery process. For example, most people who successfully quit smoking have an average of 7 relapses before the change becomes permanent. We can apply that here too – give yourself grace if you stumble. Shake it off, it is not a failure, but a learning - Immediately get back to your commitment, your health and well-being are worth fighting for!!
- Track your progress effectively – knowledge is power! Find a meaningful way to measure the change and periodically check in with yourself. One example is if you are obese and want change, you need to measure the correct metric. It is not as meaningful to only measure your weight on the scale, as it is to measure your body fat percentage. For example, If you lose 10 lbs of fat, and gain 10 lbs of muscle, the scale will not show a change, but that would be an incredible change to your body. If you do not realize the progress you might give up. Another good way to measure is via the waste measurement (at the belly button) which is directly linked to health risk, as your waste size decreases your health risk is decreasing too. As a general rule, optimally your waste should be half your height. For example, if you are 70 inches tall your waste should be close to 35 inches at optimal health. At minimum, Men should be below 40 inches at the belly, and women should be below 35 inches to reduce health risk. Measuring in the correct way can be very motivating as you track your good progress.
I wish you great success as you make positive change toward better health and wellbeing! Dr.Jerry
Resources:
New Year’s Resolutions Statistics (2024) – Forbes Health
How to Really Change Behaviors, According to Psychology | Psychology Today
Morbidity and mortality associated with obesity - PMC
Burden of Disease - Our World in Data
Jerry Strohkorb, MD MPH FACOEM
CEO, Managing Partner
OATH HEALTH PRODUCTS, LLC
“Dr.Jerry’s”