Readers are a healthy lot

Harvard Health Letter, April, 1992 by Patricia Thomas

Health Letter readers and Harvard Medical School faculty members apparently have much in common, according to results of an unofficial survey of readers' health habits. Several thousand readers surprised us by filling out and returning a blank questionnaire distributed with our report on the personal health practices of randomly selected faculty members (see the Health Letter, January 1992). As promised last month, we've taken advantage of this unexpected bonanza to compare responses from 604 of our readers with those of the 672 faculty members who participated in the original survey. The results must be taken with a grain of salt, of course, because the reader sample is probably not representative.

In terms of diet, 20% of readers said they consume red meat three or more times weekly compared with only 11% of the doctors. But readers reported having a slightly less prominent sweet tooth than faculty members, with 25% admitting that they eat dessert three or more times a week (29% of doctors do so). Readers appeared significantly more likely to light up after dinner, however, with 10% saying they smoke cigarettes versus only 3% of the doctors. (HHL readers nevertheless compare very favorably with the 26.5% of the U.S. population who smoke cigarettes.)

When it comes to alcohol consumption, readers are more polarized than faculty members. Fully 33% of readers identified themselves as teetotalers; at the other end of the spectrum, 18% said they have at least one drink daily. The majority of doctors fell squarely in between.

The popularity of various preventive health strategies also differed. Asked whether they took aspirin regularly to protect against cardiovascular disease, for example, 39% of readers and 25% of doctors said yes. Patterns of regular aerobic exercise were more similar, though: 53% of doctors and 48% of readers said they exercise three times a week for at least twenty minutes per session.

Surprisingly, readers on wheels were less likely to buckle up than faculty members. Only 78% of readers said they always wear automobile seatbelts compared with 86% of doctors.

In the event of accident or serious illness, however, readers appeared better prepared than our faculty. An impressive 53% of them have completed living wills, while just 23% of faculty members have done so. Both groups could do better where organ donation is concerned: only 34% of readers and 37% of faculty carry organ donor cards, which means that many could miss an opportunity to restore vision, mobility, or even life to others.