The start of the New Year is an appropriate time to strive for change. Below, we leave you with three healthy resolutions for your consideration:

Quit smoking: It is an annual ritual, but quitting often takes more than one try. More than 70 percent of the 50 million smokers in the U.S. have made a prior attempt, and 46 percent of smokers try to quit each year, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. Deciding to quit is the place to start. "Consult your physician, get advice, plug into programs," Dr. Norman Edelman of the American Lung Association suggests.

Weight loss and fitness: Maintaining fitness increases your healthy life span and lowers your risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. In terms of exercise, "ease into it," if you have been sedentary all year, advises Heather Hedrick, assistant director of educational services at the National Institute for Fitness and Sport. In terms of diet, focus on portion control, balanced meals and consumption of fruits and vegetables. "We suggest people pick one or two things they can change," Hedrick adds.

Health checkups: Visit your physician, since "people often don't realize a problem until they go for an annual checkup and find high blood pressure, high cholesterol or low bone density," Hedrick notes. The fact is, 100 million adults have high cholesterol numbers that could be lowered by exercising, giving up smoking and staying at a healthy weight. Low bone density, which can lead to osteoporosis, is a silent affliction affecting 18 million Americans. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recently launched an initiative to promote nationwide osteoporosis prevention and diagnosis. One key part of that goal is having people undergo bone-mineral density tests (BMD). The result, otherwise known as T-scores, indicates deviation from normal bone density and the degree of risk.