Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
2010 CDC Statistics Show Obesity, Heart Attacks, Cancer on the Rise
The recently issued 34th annual report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Health, United States Report," shows that the leading causes of death in the U.S. are heart disease and cancer.
For example, the report shows that in 2007, a quarter of the reported deaths in the US were due to heart disease. During the same period, cancer was the cause of death in 23% of the cases. The report also shows that childhood obesity in the US has doubled in the last 10 years. Approximately 20 % of children between the ages 6 and 11 years are currently obese. The numbers are only slightly better for teenagers (18%).
Adults have the highest obesity rates with the highest rise in the last couple of decades. US have gone obese from 22% in the late 1980s and 1990s to a 34% in the 2000s. The trend is likely to continue in the future unless there is a serious shift in diet for both parents and children.
Unhealthy fast food diet and lack of exercise are the main culprits for this growing epidemic. And since obesity is tightly linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, combating this condition could help prevent these illnesses from developing in the future.
A big first step in the right direction is raising awareness of the disadvantages of the typical American diet loaded with carbs, saturated fats and meat. Sensible diet combined with regular exercise should be the motto of every person who wants to live a healthy life.
Besides establishing a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise, return to health would also mean fewer dollars spent on medical treatments. Makes sense, doesn't it?
