We’re only a couple of weeks into January, and if you’re one of those people who has already abandoned your New Year’s resolution, rest assured — you’re not alone. It seems that about 50 percent of the population makes resolutions each New Year, only to slip and slide back into old habits by February. Promises that top our annual to-do lists include hopes for weight loss, exercise, stopping smoking, better money management and debt reduction.
According to the 2015 Food and Health Survey, conducted by the International Food Information Council Foundation, 29 percent of Americans made a New Year’s resolution for 2015. Of the one-third that dared to be so bold, 16 percent did not include diet or exercise in their goal. Looking ahead, by March, only slightly more than a quarter (28 percent) said they were still strictly following their resolution. A millennial analysis of the same Survey found Millennials were more likely to make a New Year’s resolution, with nearly one in two (46 percent) resolving to make a change. Adherence, however, is a different story. Sticking to New Year’s resolutions seems to be difficult no matter your age.
Millennials are known for being expert multitaskers. But can one multitask health? The IFIC Foundation reports that millennials are significantly more likely to say that lack of time prevents them from staying on track with weight-loss or management goals. To help them reach their health-oriented resolutions, more than any other age group, millennials turn to digital sources for solutions. Case in point, millennials (particularly women) are more likely to use apps or other means to track daily food and beverage intake. And seeking tech support doesn’t stop there. Millennials are also more likely to turn to online support groups, blogs or other online communities in search of diet advice. The dependence on digital is ingrained in this generation — and it isn’t just for entertainment anymore.
If lack of time is the No. 1 barrier preventing millennials from staying on track with heath, how would extra time help? Both the general population and millennials say that if they had an extra four hours per week, they’d spend extra time exercising. It’s not all gung-ho for millennials, though — they are also more inclined to spend this time extra time relaxing or sleeping. Looking within the sexes, men appear to be the more tech-focused gender, being two times as likely to spend the extra time watching TV and more than twice as likely to spend the extra time using electronic devices. Millennial women, on the other hand, are more likely to spend the extra time exercising.
Regardless of how millennials allot their time and efforts on health-oriented activities, they appear to be just as confused as the rest of us when it comes to specific parts of their diet. Take fats and oils, for example. A recommendation in the new 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to replace saturated fats (such as those found in butter, fatty meats and tropical oils like coconut oil) with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in our diet (like those found in canola and olive oils, lean meats, fish and seafood, and nuts). Despite this advice, confusion still exists about which oils are “healthy.” When asked to rank the healthfulness of common oils, millennials rank fish oil, olive oil and coconut oil best. Although fish oil and olive oil contain a varied profile of heart-healthy unsaturated fatty acids, coconut oil is predominantly saturated fat. These results suggest that millennials aren’t as aware of the heart-healthy benefits inherent to oils like canola and soybean.
The bottom line is that the rest of us can copy and paste a page from the millennial playbook and start using technology in our annual quest to get fit, eat right and maintain good health. But when it comes to keeping our resolutions, it looks like we all need to try a little harder to act on the promises we make ourselves. Perhaps the best place to start is by focusing on one goal at a time — and make it a realistic one we’ll actually do.
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What’s Keeping Millennials From Keeping Their Resolutions? originally appeared on usnews.com
