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Date: February 23, 2006
AMERICANS ENGAGE IN UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS TO MANAGE STRESSNew Survey Findings Show Gender Differences, Connections Between Stress and Unhealthy Choices Affect Mind/Body Health
New York, NY– Americans engage in unhealthy behaviors such as comfort eating, poor diet choices, smoking and inactivity to help deal with stress, according to a new national survey released today. People experiencing stress are more likely to report hypertension, anxiety or depression and obesity. In particular, women report feeling the effects of stress on their physical health more than men. The survey results seem to tie in with what research shows, that 43 percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress. Given the potential health complications related to stress, it is fair to say stress certainly is a health problem in America. The survey, conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) in partnership with the National Women's Health Resource Center and iVillage.com, looked at how people deal with stress and its effect on mind/body health among women and men.
Smoking and Inactivity "People who cope with long-term stress by engaging in unhealthy behaviors and lifestyle, may very well alleviate symptoms of stress in the short term, but end up creating significant health problems in the long run," says Russ Newman, PhD, JD, executive director for professional practice, APA.
Women and Men Experience Stress Differently Stress is higher among the family's health care decision maker. Seventy-three percent of women identify themselves as the primary decision maker in the household for health issues versus 40 percent of men. "As the health managers of their families, women disproportionately feel the effects of stress. From taking care of children to serving as the caregivers for elderly parents, the survey found that women report more stressors and greater concern for the effects that stress has on their daily lives, said Elizabeth Battaglino Cahill, executive director of the National Women’s Health Resource Center. "Unfortunately, women are not taking the necessary steps to alleviate stress and their physical health is suffering." Kellie Gould, Editor-in-Chief of iVillage.com said, "Consistent with the survey findings, we hear from the women who visit our site that they are under a great deal of stress and shoulder the majority of responsibility for caretaking and for being the "COO" of their household. While women may be more vocal about the stress in their lives, we feel it is important for them to understand and appropriately improve upon how they manage it."
Stress Affects Mind/Body Health
What's Stressing Us Out Leading Sources of Stress Twenty-eight percent of women call money a "very significant" source of stress, versus 19 percent of men. Twenty-seven percent of women worry about the health of a spouse or child, versus 20 percent of men, and 27 percent worry about health problems affecting parents, versus 20 percent of men. Twenty-four percent of women say children are a very significant source of stress in their lives, compared to 15 percent of men. "Everybody experiences stress," says Newman. "The key is how effectively people deal with and manage stress. People who turn to comfort food or smoking are starting a vicious cycle. Their attempts to reduce stress can actually lead to health problems that result in increased stress." Take the Stress Smarts Quiz at www.iVillage.com/StressQuiz and visit APAHelpCenter.org and www.healthywomen.org for tips on managing stress. This random-digit-dial telephone survey was designed and administered by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. The survey reached 2,152 adults, 18 years or older. The base sample of 1,600 was supplemented with an over sample of 552 African Americans and Hispanics. The data were weighted by gender, age, race, income, education, marital status, and region to ensure an accurate reflection of the population. The sample size with these weights applied is 1,600. The survey was conducted January 12-24, 2006 and carries a margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points.
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 53 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare. The National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) is the leading independent health information source for women. The non-profit organization develops and distributes up-to-date and objective women's health information based on the latest advances in medical research and practice. NWHRC believes all women should have access to the most trusted and reliable health information. Informed women are healthier women. iVillage is "the Internet for women" and consists of several online and offline media-based properties that seek to enrich the lives of women, teenage girls and parents through the offering of unique content, community applications, tools and interactive features. The iVillage Network was the number one "women's community site" on the Web and reaches more than 11 percent of women 18+ online in the U.S. (comScore MediaMetrix, January 2006). iVillage Inc. (NASDAQ: IVIL) was established in 1995 and is headquartered in New York City.
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