The Serious Dangers of Being An Average Person

You hear it used frequently in conversation and in articles“He’s an average guy, she’s an average girl, they live a normal average life”.  

The term average and normal are sometimes used in tandem, trying to sell you the idea that an average life, is a normal life. In other words; the standard for living.

But what does that mean exactly, and what does average really mean? And what does it look like exactly?

I let this idea roll around in my head for a bit and wanted to dig up some information on what comprised the average American.

There are some not explicitly tied to the individual, but they were left in to show an overall picture of our culture and what average looks like in America. Here are some very interesting finds:

Here's what average looks like in America, according to U.S. census data, Pew ResearchCenter findings, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Institute ofRetirement Security, NerdWallet and the CDC:

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Finances & Lifestyle

• The average American household is about $131,000 in debt.
• The average American spends $69 a day.
• The average American has $34 in their pocket.
• The average American watches 33 hours of TV a week.
• The average American reads just four books a year.
• The average American works 34.4 hours per week.
• The average American is 17 pounds overweight.
• The average American spends 116 minutes a day, or about two hours, on social media.
• The average American spends five hours a day on their cell phone.
• The average American consumes 11 alcoholic drinks a week.
• The average American exercises just 17 minutes a day.
• The average American has less than $1,000 in savings.
• The average American makes about $48,000 a year.

SOURCE: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/07/tom-corley-heres-what-average-looks-like-in-america.html

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Physical Activity

• Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day;² only one in three adults receive the recommended amount of physical activity each week.³
• More than 80% of adults do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, and more than 80% of adolescents do not do enough aerobic physical activity to meet the guidelines for youth.^{5
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• Children now spend more than seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen (e.g., TV, video games, computer).^{7
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• 28.0% of Americans, or 80.2 million people, aged six and older are physically inactive.^{23
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• Nearly one-third of high school  students play video or computer games for 3 or more hours on an average school day.^{24
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Nutrition

• Typical American diets exceed the recommended intake levels or limits in four categories: calories from solid fats and added sugars; refined grains; sodium; and saturated fat.²
• Americans eat less than the recommended amounts of vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, dairy products, and oils.^{2
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• About 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet.⁸ (Reducing the sodium Americans eat by 1,200mg per day on could save up to $20 billion a year in medical costs.)
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• Since the 1970s, the number of fast food restaurants has more than doubled.^{2
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• More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in food deserts – areas that are more than a mile away from a supermarket.^{9
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• In 2008, an estimated 49.1 million people, including 16.7 million children, experienced food insecurity (limited availability to safe and nutritionally adequate foods) multiple times throughout the year.^{10
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• In 2013, residents of the following states were most likely to report eating at least five servings of vegetables four or more days per week: Vermont (68.7%), Montana (63.0%) and Washington (61.8%). The least likely were Oklahoma (52.3%), Louisiana (53.3%) and Missouri (53.8%). The national average for regular produce consumption is 57.7%.^{6
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• Empty calories from added sugars and solid fats contribute to 40% of total daily calories for 2–18 year olds and half of these empty calories come from six sources: soda, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, grain desserts, pizza, and whole milk.^{27
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• US adults consume an average of 3,400 mg/day [of sodium], well above the current federal guideline of less than 2,300 mg daily.^{28
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• US per capita consumption of total fat increased from approximately 57 pounds in 1980 to 78 pounds in 2009 with the highest consumption being 85 pounds in 2005.^{30
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• The US percentage of food-insecure households, those with limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways, rose from 11% to 15% between 2005 and 2009.^{31
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Obesity

• Recent reports project that by 2030, half of all adults (115 million adults) in the United States will be obese.¹²
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• Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.^{1314
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Obesity Then and Now²

• Prevalence of obesity for  children ages 2 to 5 years – doubled  
  Early 1970s: 5%
  2007-08: 10%

• Prevalence of obesity for children ages 6 to 11 years – quadrupled
  Early 1970s: 4%
  2007-08: 20%  

• Prevalence of obesity for children ages 12 to 19 years – tripled
  Early 1970s: 6%
  2007-08: 18%

• Percentage of obese adults –  doubled
  Early 1970s: 15%
  2007-08: 34%

• States with an adult obesity prevalence rate of more than 25%:
  Early 1970s: Zero
  2007-08: 32

SOURCE: https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html

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Though some of these statistics are dated back a few years, you can pick up on the common themes and trends to get a good picture of what average looks like.  

The problem you can also come to is the fact that our“average” seems to be getting worse, especially when it comes to overall lifestyle and health.

And that is really something to think about.

Think about the question; do you want to be average? Are these really the statistics you would like to be a part of? Do you want to spend the bulk of your life consuming poor food, barely scraping by financially, and doing overall just enough to survive?

Something to think about. That’s all for now.