Americans overestimate how healthy they really are, according toa survey of 8,000 workers by ResearchNow and Aflac.
According to the 2012 Aflac WorkForces Report, 62 percent of workerssaid they do not think it's likely they or a family member will bediagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer. More than half (55percent) said they believe it is unlikely they will be diagnosedwith a chronic illness, like heart disease or diabetes.
Compare these numbers to actual statistics, and the differenceis staggering. While survey takers were right about diabetes—only8.3 percent of Americans currently have the disease, according tothe American Diabetes Assn.—they were wrong abouteverything else. One-third of women and one-half of men will bediagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, according tothe AmericanCancer Society. And about 1 in 6 U.S. deaths are caused bycoronary heart disease every year, according to the American HeartAssn..
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