Bad Habits Get In The Way of Staying Healthy During COVID-19, Survey Finds

NEW YORK, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new ValuePenguin.com survey has found that three quarters of Americans are concerned about their health, but they don't consider the negative effects that certain small actions could have on their communities' health. For instance, more than four in 10 don't wash their hands every time after using the restroom.

The prevalence of these habits underscores the ease with which viruses such as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can spread quickly throughout communities. And unhealthy habits can become more jarring when one realizes the number of Americans who are vulnerable to disease, including the 13% of the population who don't have health insurance.Here are key findings from the survey:

• Bad Habits That Contribute to the Spread of COVID-19: 4 in 10 Americans surveyed say they don't wash their hands after using the restroom, and a further 18% admit to regularly biting their nails. Additionally, over 45% confessed to sleeping next to their phones - whose surfaces tend to be another way the virus is spreading.
• Bad Habits That Aren't Helping Americans' Overall Health: 55% of Americans confessed to getting less than seven hours of sleep per night. 66% say they aren't eating enough helpings of fruit and vegetables in their diets, and 70% say they aren't getting the recommended two and half hours of physical activity in a week.
• Bad Habits That Affect Americans' Long Term Health: 53% of Americans don't visit the doctor for yearly checkups, with this being more common among men over women. Most worryingly, members of Gen Z are most likely to lie to their healthcare professionals (18%) and go into work when they're sick (33%), and a further 21% reported lying to their employee-sponsored health insurance providers.
• Insufficient Access to Healthcare is the Most Worrying Aspect of All: While accounting for certain harmful habits can go a long way toward improving someone's overall health, for the 13% Americans who don't have access to health-care professionals and preventive care, taking steps can be extremely difficult or impossible. Generationally, over 19% of Gen Zers aren't insured, along with 15% of Millennials and 15% of Gen X.

ValuePenguin.com commissioned Qualtrics to conduct an online survey of 1,311 Americans, with the sample base proportioned to represent the overall population. The survey was fielded in March 2020, and before the COVID-19 coronavirus was classified as a pandemic. To view the full report, visit: https://www.valuepenguin.com/unhealthiest-habits-in-america

About ValuePenguin.com: ValuePenguin.com, part of LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE), is a personal finance website that conducts in-depth research and provides objective analysis to help guide consumers to the best financial decisions. ValuePenguin focuses on value, assessing whether the return of a particular decision is worth the cost or risk of that option, and how this stacks up with the other possible choices they may have. For more information, please visit www.valuepenguin.com, like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @ValuePenguin.

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SOURCE ValuePenguin.com

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