By Dr. Ronald Hoffman
According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, American adults get a "D" in science; 22% confuse astronomy and astrology! On a general science knowledge quiz consisting of 12 questions, the test-takers answered 7.9 correctly, on average. That's a score of 66%. Only 6% answered all 12 questions correctly.
Similarly, lack of health literacy is also a huge problem among Americans. We are continually bombarded with often-contradictory health information. U.S. patients are confronted with myriad treatment options they are ill-equipped to properly choose among. Urban legend, aggressive direct-to-consumer advertising, and dumbed-down media stories add to the confusion.
The mission of Intelligent Medicine is to enhance your Health IQ, so I've created a simple quiz to test your knowledge. Click the link below to try your hand at the ten questions we've put together and see if you get a passing grade!
TAKE THE QUIZ!
If you answer all the questions correctly, or even 9 out of 10, congratulations, you are a true paragon of Intelligent Medicine! If you get 7 or 8 right, you're still doing better than average. If you score 60% or less, your health literacy needs a boost. Try boning up on medical and nutritional facts by listening to our Intelligent Medicine podcasts and perusing the articles on the Intelligent Medicine website.
You're sure to ace the test when we repeat it sometime next year!