Americans overestimate how healthy they really are, according to a survey of 8,000 workers by Research Now and Aflac.
According to the 2012 Aflac WorkForces Report, 62 percent of workers said they do not think it's likely they or a family member will be diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer. More than half (55 percent) said they believe it is unlikely they will be diagnosed with a chronic illness, like heart disease or diabetes.
Compare these numbers to actual statistics, and the difference is staggering. While survey takers were right about diabetes—only 8.3 percent of Americans currently have the disease, according to the American Diabetes Assn.—they were wrong about everything else. One-third of women and one-half of men will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, according to the American Cancer Society. And about 1 in 6 U.S. deaths are caused by coronary heart disease every year, according to the American Heart Assn..
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