Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and many other countries. A recent study showed that 90 percent of American adults have at least one risk factor for heart disease.
According to the researchers from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost all the Americans who have hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol or high blood sugar are overweight, smoking or exercising too little. Their report was presented on September 14, 2009 in the journal Circulation.
4 national studies that covered tens of thousands of Americans aged between 25 and 74 were examined, and it was found that only 10 percent of them had low risk scores in all 5 categories.
The 5 categories used refer to tobacco use, cholesterol level, blood pressure, BMI and diabetes. BMI is the short form for body mass index, which is a measure of overweight and obesity.
While tobacco use and cholesterol are still headed in the right direction, blood pressure, BMI and diabetes are all moving in the wrong direction, as indicated in the report.
Despite the effort being made during the 1970s and 1980s, situation deteriorated as a result of the increases in excess weight, diabetes and hypertension since the early 1990s.
Looking at the lifestyle adopted by people for the past decades, it will be very difficult for the situation to turn around unless people are willing to change their lifestyle and engage with regular exercise. This can never be an easy task, as it requires a great deal of effort from the people themselves as well as the authorities concerned.
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