Still weighing whether to make a New Year’s resolutions? Or perhaps you regret letting your healthy habits slide during the holidays.
Either way, the American Medical Association (AMA) has ten recommendations to help Americans improve their health in 2024.
According to AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, “it is quite common to think about all you’ve eaten or your reduced physical activity and get discouraged after the holidays.”
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New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions
AMA news release
The good news is that you don’t have to drastically alter your health all at once. In an AMA news release, Ehrenfeld continued, “You can make small, positive health choices right now that can have long-lasting effects.”
New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions
The AMA’s recommendations for a healthier new year include:
- Increase physical activity. Exercise is essential to physical and mental health. Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week.
- Eat healthier. Reduce your intake of sugary drinks and processed foods by instead drinking more water and eating more nutritious whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, low-fat dairy and lean meats.
- Get up-to-date on vaccinations. Vaccines are available to protect people against COVID, influenza and RSV during this winter’s cold and flu season. Make sure all members of your family have all their recommended jabs.
- Go to your scheduled health screenings. Millions of screenings for breast, colorectal and prostate cancers might have been missed due to pandemic-related disruptions, researchers estimate. Check with your doctor to find out if you’re due for a screening.
- Know your blood pressure numbers. Getting high blood pressure under control can reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
- Find out what type 2 diabetes risk you have. To determine your risk of getting diabetes, take a two-minute online self-screening exam at DoIHavePrediabetes.org. This will allow you to take proactive measures to avoid the chronic condition.
- Drink in moderation. Adhere to the rules, which suggest one drink for women and two for men each day.
- Give up smoking. Vaping and tobacco use can have an impact on your health and lead to a nicotine addiction. Your physician can provide information and support on how to stop.
- Use prescription drugs safely. Follow your doctor’s instructions when taking prescription medications, especially antibiotics. Not finishing the full course of antibiotics can contribute to antibiotic-resistant germs. Also, store prescribed opioids safely, take them as directed and properly dispose of any leftover pills.
- Manage stress. Get sufficient sleep—between seven and eight hours a night—and seek help from a mental health professional if necessary.
New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions
Another tip for a healthy New Year is to make sure that you have health insurance coverage. The AMA encourages people to visit healthcare.gov to sign up for health coverage, given that recent changes have improved access and affordability. The deadline to enroll for 2024 coverage is January 16.
New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions
Frequently asked questions
Seven steps for making your New Year’s resolutions stick
1. Dream big. Audacious goals are compelling. Want to compete in a marathon or triathlon? Lose 50 pounds or just enough to fit into clothes you once loved? With perseverance, encouragement, and support, you can do it. An ambitious aim often inspires others around you. Many will cheer you on. Some will be happy to help in practical ways, such as by training with you or taking on tasks you normally handle in order to free up your time.
2. Break big dreams into small enough steps. Now think tiny. Small steps move you forward to your ultimate goal. Look for sure-fire bets. Just getting to first base can build your confidence to tackle—and succeed at—more difficult tasks. Don’t disdain easy choices. If you start every plan with “Make list,” you’re guaranteed to check one box off quickly. That’s no joke: a study on loyalty programs that aim to motivate consumers found giving people two free punches on a frequent-buyer card encouraged repeat business. So break hard jobs down into smaller line items and enjoy breezing through the easy tasks first.
3. Understand why you shouldn’t make a change. That’s right. Until you grasp why you’re sticking like a burr to old habits and routines, it may be hard to muster enough energy and will to take a hard left toward change. Unhealthy behaviors like overeating and smoking have immediate, pleasurable payoffs as well as costs. So, when you’re considering a change, take time to think it through. You boost your chance of success when the balance of pluses and minuses tips enough to make adopting a new behavior more attractive than standing in place. Engaging in enjoyable aspects of an unhealthy behavior, without the behavior itself, helps too. For example, if you enjoy taking a break while having a smoke, take the break and enjoy it, but find healthier ways to do so. Otherwise, you’re working against a headwind and are less likely to experience lasting success.
4. Commit yourself. Make yourself accountable through a written or verbal promise to people you don’t want to let down. That will encourage you to slog through tough spots. One intrepid soul created a Facebook page devoted to her goals for weight loss. You can make a less public promise to your partner or child, a teacher, doctor, boss, or friends. Want more support? Post your promise on Facebook, tweet it to your followers, or seek out folks with like-minded goals online.
5. Give yourself a medal. Don’t wait to call yourself a winner until you’ve pounded through the last mile of your big dream marathon or lost every unwanted ounce. Health changes are often incremental. Encourage yourself to keep at it by pausing to acknowledge success as you tick off small and big steps en route to a goal. Blast your favorite tune each time you reach 5,000 steps. Get a pat on the back from your coach or spouse. Ask family and friends to cheer you on. Look for an online support group.
6. Learn from the past. Any time you fail to make a change, consider it a step toward your goal. Why? Because each sincere attempt represents a lesson learned. When you hit a snag, take a moment to think about what did and didn’t work. Maybe you took on too big a challenge? If so, scale back to a less ambitious challenge, or break the big one into tinier steps. If nailing down 30 consecutive minutes to exercise never seems to work on busy days, break that down by aiming for three 10-minute walks — one before work, one during lunch, one after work — or a 20-minute walk at lunch plus a 10-minute mix of marching, stair climbing, and jumping rope or similar activities slipped into your TV schedule.
7. Give thanks for what you do. Forget perfection. Set your sights on finishing that marathon, not on running it. If you compete to complete, you’ll be a winner even if you wind up walking as much as you run. With exercise — and so many other goals we set — you’ll benefit even when doing less than you’d like to do. Any activity is always better than none. If your goal for Tuesday is a 30-minute workout at the gym, but you only squeeze in 10 minutes, feel grateful for that. It’s enough. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
