by Liz Bonis & Megan Burgasser, WKRC || Click HERE to read the full story.

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – A new survey conducted by Forbes Health found improving fitness levels is the top new year’s resolution for 2024.

Almost half of those who responded have this goal. That’s up slightly from last year.

After fitness (48%), the most popular new year’s resolutions include improving finances (38.2%), improving mental health (36%), and losing weight (33.8%).

The average new year’s resolution lasts less than four months.

Many respondents plan to commit to several goals, with 66.5 percent stating they plan on making three or more resolutions for the year ahead.

Now physical therapists at OrthoCincy said if fitness is top of mind for someone this year, focus on strengthening the lower body.

A study presented at the Radiological Society of North America found strong quadriceps muscles, especially with strong hamstrings, may lower the risk of needing a total knee replacement.

Knee replacement surgeries are precise now, but if a person can delay or reduce the need for them with lifestyle choices, it’s always better.

By the way, a lot of people try to have surgery before the end of the year to save money on insurance deductibles. So, people may want to ask about the Mako computer-assisted navigation.

Here’s what that means:

“So, I get a CT scan of the patient’s knee before surgery, and we make a 3D reconstruction in the computer, and I look at those images with my colleagues before the surgery, and we look at where the implant is going to go, how much bone we are going to take off in each compartment of the knee, and then once I get them on the operating table, then I calibrate the patient’s actual anatomy to the anatomy we found on the CT scan,” said Dr. Amelia Wiggins, an OrthoCincy knee surgeon.