A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says people in the U.S. are at a critical inflection point for heart and metabolic fitness.
The paper finds less than 1 in 15 adults have good health in those areas — and the rate is trending downward.
Researchers assessed 55,000 Americans ages 20 and older for blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol, obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
Only 6.8% had optimal levels in all five areas as of 2017-18.
Trends between 1999 and 2018 also worsened significantly for obesity and blood glucose, hinting at a looming crisis.
In addition, the researchers found large health disparities between people of different sexes, ages, races and ethnicities.
