(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following story was submitted by the UNMC College of Public Health.)
Heart disease and stroke are among the nation’s leading causes of death and major causes of disability.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 23.6 million people in the United States have Type 2 diabetes, and the American Cancer Society estimates that about 1.4 million Americans received new diagnosises of invasive cancer in 2008. Of those people, the cancer society estimates 565,650 will die of this disease.
However, CDC estimates that eliminating three risk factors — poor diet, inactivity and tobacco use — would prevent 80 percent of heart disease and stroke, 80 percent of Type 2 diabetes and 40 percent of cancer.
Leaders from widely diverse national organizations have stressed the importance of focusing attention and resources on health promotion, disease prevention and primary care as critical elements of reform plans in order to address the much needed improvement of the health care system as well as to reduce illness, disability and premature death.
Their recommendations would significantly help:
- Ensure that more people receive the most effective preventive services;
- Provide incentives to communities and providers to use health information technology to help more people receive the right preventive services;
- Establish health promotion and disease prevention as core priorities for health systems, businesses, and the public sector; and
- Work with individuals and stakeholder groups to share information on how best to improve people’s health behaviors.