Good health – 5 small habits to adopt that will make all the difference for your health
92% of French people aged 18 to 24 qualify as “in good health”, against only 54% for people over 65according to a survey conducted by the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) and published in February 2021. Age is obviously a determining factor, but certain everyday gestures can also change the game, especially when new good habits are taken and applied over the long term.
Cardiologist Dr Stephen Kopecky, from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in the United States (university hospital federation ranked best hospital in all specialties, by the magazine US News & World Report in 2021), gives us a list of “five small actions that can lead to powerful transformations”. We list them in pictures.
Good health: what are the recommendations for an adult?
The national health nutrition program in France (PNNS) encourages certain behaviors “healthy” through several axes, including individual awareness. Public Health France recommends in particular to consume:
It is also advisable to prefer rapeseed, walnut and olive oilto take two dairy products a day and two servings of fish a week, including a fatty fish if possible.
Conversely, it is advisable to reduce alcohol, sugary drinks, fatty, sugary, salty and ultra-processed foods. Regarding meat products, Public Health France advises to “prefer poultry, and limit other meats (pork, beef, veal, mutton, lamb, offal) to 500 g per week” and “limit cold cuts to 150 g per week”.
Nutrition is not the only determinant of good health: physical activity is also essential, every day for at least half an hour. “Even if you already do at least 30 min of dynamic physical activity a day, it is beneficial to also reduce the time spent sitting”.
