Americans with Bad Habits Claim 'Excellent' Health

　　Nearly one in five U.S.

　　workers claims to be in excellent health ?despite being overweight, smoking, drinking too much or never exercising, according to a newly published survey. In the nationwide study of 1,450 employed adults released by Oxford Health Plans Inc., 17 percent described their health as excellent but displayed not-so-excellent habits. Of those people, 55 percent said they were at least 25 pounds (11 kg) overweight, 31 percent smoked, 21 percent drank at least three glasses of alcohol a day, 29 percent drank at least four cups of coffee or tea, and 36 percent never exercised, it said. In addition, a quarter of them said they were likely to eat fried foods and salty or sugary snacks. "Denial is dangerous when it comes to your health. It exacts a heavy toll down the road," Alan Muney, executive vice president of Oxford, said in a statement. The study also showed people with healthier habits such as frequent exercise and good diet are most motivated at work, ranking 8.9 on a 10-point scale, and most useful on the job, scoring 9 on a 10-point scale. Those with the healthiest habits were the least likely to lose sleep over their jobs and least likely to miss personal or family activities due to work. Of those workers with the most bad habits, 37 percent said they sat at their desks all day, 41 percent took no breaks at work and 18 percent were most likely to lose sleep over work.