Health – by choice. Now that’s an interesting thought!

Many of us think of health as something that happens to us rather than something over which we have any control. The fact is that many of the world’s deadliest diseases are largely preventable – diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, childhood asthma, and obesity. These and other chronic conditions now account for 70 percent of all deaths in the United States. Yet these diseases must have causes.

What are the “causes of the causes”? If we look at the actual causes of death, we see that there are lifestyle and behavioral factors – things over which we do have some control – things like smoking, eating a poor diet, and lack of exercise.  All of these contribute to the leading causes of death including:

• heart disease

• cancer

• COPD

• stroke.

Although you can’t do anything about your genetic makeup, gender, race, or age, the evidence indicates that you can help lower your risk of suffering the devastating effects of the leading causes of death by adopting healthy behaviors such as:

• eating nutritious foods

• being physically active

• avoiding tobacco.

Be a Healthier Person: Make Healthy Choices!

The following links will help you make better choices about preventive care and a healthy lifestyle. Take every opportunity to improve your health!

• Get Check-ups and Screenings

• Know Your Risk and Prevent Disease

• Create a Healthy Lifestyle

• Get Personal – Information by Age, Ethnicity and Gender

• Learn More About Your Health

By making healthy choices across your lifetime, you can improve the quality and length of your life.

Health – make it your choice!

Sources:

Leading Causes of Death  (CDC)

Living a Healthy Lifestyle (AHRQ)

For more information:

Go to the Wellness Center health topic.