Are You Healithy

In America today, there is a growing epidemic of obesity. In United Sates there is also an alarming increase of diabetes. These concerns have me asking the questions, "how healthy are Americans?" and "Is there anything I could do to help raise my level healthiness?" My understanding is that health is a lifestyle that is based on choices that one makes. From the food one eats to going for a walk or jog, everyone has a choice to make.

Since this question I have is a growing concern, there is a lot of information posted on the World Wide Web. The best website that I found is at www.healthierus.gov. The information on this site is about a national effort to prevent and reduce the costs of disease, improve people's lives and promote community health and wellness. I found this site to be very useful in helping me answer my questions on health. The site is run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This helps me believe that this source is credible and believable.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, those national and state policies on obesity are falling short of their goals. Nearly 119 million Americans, 65% of the population, are overweight or obese. The direct and indirect costs of this obesity problem are over 119 billion dollars a year. These stats help prove that we as a nation need to help each other and correct this epidemic. Some of the things that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are trying to do is bring more attention to school food and physical activity programs. There are more issues than just obesity that affect the population of the United States.

Diabetes in America is another concern that is rising rapidly. Diabetes is a group of diseases marked by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production and insulin action or both. According to Center of Disease Control, diabetes in youth under twenty years of age has recorded 176,500 cases which is roughly 1 out of every 400-600 kids. For adults between the ages of 20 and 60 there are 20.6 million cases of diabetes or 9.6% of all people in that age group. While in 2005 there were 1.5 million new cases of diabetes being diagnosed in the United States were older than 20 years old. Diabetes in the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, it kills around 224,092 Americans each year. There are numerous complications that diabetes can contribute to.

Diabetes in the United States needs to look at carefully in my opinion. With it affecting some many Americans, I am surprised that there is not more advertising about diabetes. Everyone in the U.S. knows someone who diabetes has touched or who is currently getting treated for this disease. While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is trying to spread this message, there are other actions being taken.

The President of the United States, with the help of the Department of Health and Human Services, is now launching a campaign called "Small Steps." This programs goal is to help Americans by make 3 small choices about their health to get big results, instead of making a drastic lifestyle change. The choices start with helping them eat better, by using portions and moderations with healthy fruits, and vegetables. From there the program focuses on getting physically active for five times a week for at least thirty