09/23/2026
ARE YOU A TYPICAL AMERICAN HEALTH STATISTIC?
70% of the American population will never consistently pick up a dumbbell.
•No more than 35% of adults meet the muscle-strengthening guideline.
•60% of adults have a chronic disease.
•40% of adults have two or more chronic diseases.
•Nearly 70% of Americans are on at least one prescription drug.
•42.4% of adults have obesity.
•38% of households eat out 5 or more nights per week.
•72% of workweek meals are eaten out or as takeout.
•The average American eats 4.2 commercially prepared meals per week.
•16.8% of people had a substance use disorder in the past year.
•29.1% of people will develop an alcohol use disorder in their lifetime.
•13.9% have an alcohol use disorder in any given year.
•50% of women and up to 25% of men over 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
• About half of women will experience a fracture due to osteoporosis.
•10 million Americans have osteoporosis and another 44 million have low bone density.
•More than one out of four adults over 65 falls each year.
•14 million, or 1 in 4 older adults, report falling every year.
•One out of 10 falls results in an injury that limits activity or requires medical care.
•38% of US adults have prediabetes.
98 million American adults, 38% of the adult population, have prediabetes and more than 80% don't know it.
•Nearly half of adults, 47% or 116 million people, have hypertension.
•Just 1 in 4 adults with hypertension have it under control.
•More than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis.
• A third of US adults report that they usually get less than the recommended amount of sleep.
•95% of Americans are not meeting the recommended fiber goals.
•Only 12 percent of U.S. adults meet fruit intake and only 10 percent meet vegetable intake recommendations.
•The average American takes anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, which equates to 1.5 to 2 miles.
•The average American adult sits for 9.5 hours per day.
•The average American adult spends roughly 7 hours a day looking at screens.
•About 80 percent of adults experience lower back pain in their lifetime.
•Adults lose 3 to 8% of muscle mass per decade after age 30.
•About half of U.S. adults will develop a mental illness during their lifetime.
•One in six people, 16.6%, will experience depression at some time in their life.
•During 2015 to 2018, 13.2% of Americans aged 18 and over reported taking antidepressant medication in the past 30 days.
•Almost one-quarter of women aged 60 and over, 24.3%, took antidepressants.
•7.4% of adults, 19.4 million, had moderate to severe anxiety symptoms in the prior two weeks.
•21.7% of U.S. adults reported symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.
SO HOW CAN A DUMBBELL FIX IT?
WELL….👇🏻
*30 to 60 minutes of strength training per week lowered the risk of dying from any cause by 10 to 17 percent.
*Muscle-strengthening activities were associated with a 10 to 17% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer, diabetes, lung cancer and all-cause mortality.
*Any strength training reduced the rate of type 2 diabetes by 30%.
Moderate muscle mass reduced the risk for type 2 diabetes by 32 percent.
Exercise especially weight bearing and resistance training improves bone mineral density and strengthens bones helping to reduce fracture risk.
High-intensity resistance and impact training were found to have greater benefits on bone health.
*Seniors who engaged in strength training twice a week for six months reduced their fall risk by 40%.
The fall rate among participants was reduced about 30 percent compared to non-exercisers. Regular strength and balance training can reduce the occurrence of falls by 31%.
•Exercise in adulthood was associated with an almost 20% reduction in the odds of having depressive symptoms.
Building activity equivalent to 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week was tied to a 25% lower risk of depression. At half that volume, the risk was 18% lower.
•70% will never pick up a dumbbell, but 30 minutes a week of picking one up cuts your risk of dying early by 17%.
*60% have a chronic disease, but 2 days of lifting cuts diabetes risk by 30%.
*95% don't get enough fiber and only 12% eat enough fruit, but lifters naturally start craving lean meats, fruits and vegetables and cook 6.3% less ultra-processed food.
*1 in 4 over 65 falls every year, but lifting twice a week cuts that fall risk by 30 to 40%.
*50% of women will break a bone from osteoporosis, but lifting is the only thing proven to rebuild that bone.
*1 in 5 lives with mental illness and 1 in 6 will face major depression, but lifting cuts the odds of depression by almost 20%. Resistance training was associated with a significant reduction in depressive symptoms.
American culture hasn't made unhealthy choices feel like choices anymore. It made them the default.
• Food is engineered to be fast, cheap, and everywhere. Cooking 7 nights takes more time, planning, and money than driving through.
• Movement was engineered out of life. Jobs, commutes, and entertainment are all sitting.
• Rest is treated as lazy. 1 in 3 adults don't get 7 hours of sleep and it is celebrated as hustle.
• Strength is treated as optional. 70% never consistently pick up a dumbbell, even though muscle is what protects your metabolism, bones, and balance after 30.
So when you choose to lift, cook at home, eat fiber, walk more than 4k steps, and sleep 7 to 8 hours — you are not doing the normal thing. You are doing the counter-cultural thing. Be different.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE SECOND HALF OF YOUR LIFE TO LOOK LIKE?
Do you want to be part of the 50% of women who break a bone from osteoporosis?
Part of the 1 in 4 over 65 who falls every year?
Part of the 60% living with a chronic disease and 70% on a prescription?
Or do you want to be part of the minority?
The 35% who lift 2 times a week.
The ones who still get off the floor without help at 70.
Who carry their own groceries at 75.
Who travel, hike, and play with grandkids at 80.
Who live in their own home at 85.
A dumbbell doesn't just lower your risk of dying early by 10 to 17%.
It gives you more years where you are strong, clear, independent, and capable.
That is not just longevity. That is quality of life WITH longevity.
The second half is not decided by age. It is decided by what you pick up today.
So pick up the dumbbell.💪 🏋️♂️
Sources: CDC (NHANES, BRFSS, MMWR, NCHS), NIH, SAMHSA NSDUH 2024, Mayo Clinic Proc., BJSM, MSSE, JAMA Psychiatry
