Tuesday, January 5, 2010

CDC: Nation Failing To Meet Most 2010 Health Targets; Getting Worse On Obesity, Blood Pressure

“There are more obese Americans than a decade ago, not fewer. We eat more salt and fat, not less. More of us have high blood pressure. More of our children have untreated tooth decay. But the nation has made at least some progress on many other goals. Vaccination rates improved. Most workplace injuries are down. And deaths rates from stroke, cancer and heart disease are all dropping. As we move into a new decade, the government is analyzing how well the nation met the 2010 goals and drawing up a new set of goals for 2020 expected to be more numerous and — perhaps — less ambitious. ‘We need to strike a balance of setting targets that are achievable and also ask the country to reach,’ said Dr. Howard Koh, the federal health official who oversees the Healthy People project. ‘That's a balance that's sometimes a challenge to strike.’”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-ap-us-med-healthy-people,0,3405888.story

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