Heart Disease Down, Junk Food on the Rise

tidbits that tantalizeNice Job America...

Epidemiologists - very smart people who study the origins, distribution patterns and outcomes of disease - have noted some progress in the battle against heart disease.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the Heart of Mersey in England studied health data from 1980 to 2000. They specifically compared coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths in the United States, and assessed the reasons for the decline in the death rate; the number of deaths due to CHD fell by almost 50% during this period.

Why such good news?

Well, it's a combination of medical advances and good old hard work. On the medical side, treatments for chronic heart failure, and emergency treatments for heart attacks and angina, are responsible for about one-half the decrease. But, the best news is...

The other half of the decline is due to healthy lifestyle changes. This is fabulous news indeed.

People have apparently been paying attention to the ceaseless yammering of health professionals about healthy diets and lifestyles. The researchers found significant improvements in major risk factors: smoking rates down, cholesterol levels down, blood pressure down, and - physical activity up. It couldn't get any better. Or...

Maybe it could be a tad better.

The researchers say the results would be a full 15% better if both obesity and diabetes were not on the rise. They say this reflects the ongoing love affair Americans have with junk food.

What's the solution to the junk food problem? Hmm...

How about a new slogan: "Eat less, yammer more!"

To read more about the study, see this from ScienceDaily. To learn more about leading a healthy lifestyle, see this fabulous site from The Heart of Mersey.