ANDERSON, Ind. — A new study shows that only 2.7 percent of the national population meets four basic criteria for a healthy lifestyle.

The study, conducted over a period of more than two years by researchers at Oregon State University, the University of Mississippi and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, outlines the four criteria as:

• having an appropriately balanced diet
• being moderately active
• being a non-smoker
• having a recommended body fat percentage.

Out of the 4,745 people included in the study, 97.3 percent did not meet all four criteria. But rather than just surveying the participants, scientists actually tested them in each category, making the study more accurate.

“The behavior standards we were measuring for were pretty reasonable, not super high,” lead researcher Ellen Smit, a nutritional epidemiologist at Oregon State University, told Business Insider. “We weren’t looking for marathon runners.”

Many health professionals aren’t surprised by the study’s findings. Some of them singled out diet as one of the most important factors in a healthy lifestyle, but also one of the most neglected.

“The cheapest food items now are the least healthy,” said Dr. Charles Williams, a physician in Anderson, Indiana. “It’s easy for people to buy the things that are going to be detrimental to their overall health.”

And many people overlook the simplicity of getting started toward a healthier lifestyle.

“It can be at home with a jump rope or playing with your kids for 30 minutes,” said Angie Howald, a primary care nurse practitioner with the St. Vincent Medical Group cardiology practice. “About 30 minutes every day is enough to have heart health benefits.”

Howald added that when it comes to improving health, people need to think simply about starting somewhere and working up to all four health components. And when it comes to losing weight, the amount lost doesn’t have to be drastic to have positive effects.

“People think they have to lose hundreds of pounds,” she told the Anderson (Indiana) Herald Bulletin. “If a 200-pound person loses 10 pounds, that makes a difference.”

Filchak writes for the Anderson (Indiana) Herald Bulletin.