The director of the USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that obesity is the nation’s number one health problem. Dr Julie Gerberding said that US citizens are far more likely to die from diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, that are caused by bad lifestyle choices such as smoking, eating too much and exercising too little, than they are to die from diseases such as West Nile virus infection, SARS, anthrax, or smallpox. Statistics show that 65% of US adults are overweight or obese, and in three states &endash; Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia &endash; 25% of adults are obese. The top five causes of death in the US are heart disease, cancer, stroke, lung disease, and accidents. However, obesity is the leading cause of the top three killers. Gerberding says that one of her first acts as director was to open stairwells and turn off some of the elevators.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 29th October 2003.
