In 2013, Let’s Resolve to Leverage Best Practices in Public Health
There’s no better time than the New Year to reflect on past milestones and set goals for the year ahead. The most recent America’s Health Rankings® statistics identified key areas where there is room for collective health improvement, particularly within preventable chronic disease metrics, and we can't wait to get started.
The State of America’s Health: United Health Foundation’s 2012 America’s Health Rankings®
It’s finally here: The official launch day of United Health Foundation’s 2012 America’s Health Rankings®. We at United Health Foundation look forward to this day all year long because it gives us such a valuable opportunity to start a national dialogue about the health of our communities, states and country as a whole.
Preventing Diabetes
According to the latest research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 25 million adults have been told by a doctor that they have adult diabetes. What’s even more concerning is how this number is poised to skyrocket. Another CDC study predicts that, based on our current trajectory, the number of Americans with adult diabetes will grow to one in three adults by 2050.
Health Is in the Air You Breathe
October 21-27 is Respiratory Care Week, and, in the spirit of lung health awareness, I’d like to focus on a health problem plaguing this country for far too long: smoking.
Cardiovascular Disease: A Health Crisis That Extends Beyond Our Borders
Cardiovascular disease is our nation’s leading cause of death, claiming more lives than the next three leading causes of death combined. It’s also our nation’s most prevalent illness, affecting about one of every three (33%) adults. And if current trends persist, prevalence will surpass 40% by 2030.
Everybody Deserves a Shot
Remember when you were a kid headed to the doctor’s office for a yearly check-up? You wouldn’t be alone if you said you dreaded getting shots. Because August is National Immunization Awareness Month, I want to spend some time discussing why vaccinations – pesky as they may be – are so essential.
A Whole That’s Mightier Than Its Parts
As president of United Health Foundation, I am guided by a singular passion to make a difference and to help create a brighter future for us all. The Foundation has many separate activities that support this goal, and nothing makes me happier than when our various initiatives come together to form a whole that’s more powerful than the separate parts.
Using the Web to Bring America’s Health Rankings® to Life
When it comes to improving health, I am a firm believer that knowledge is power and that, as Maya Angelou says, when you know better, you do better. That’s why I was so excited to learn that United Health Foundation has once again been recognized with a Web Health Award for the America’s Health Rankings® website.
Partnerships to Support Community Members in Achieving and Maintaining a Healthy Weight: Our nation faces an epidemic that we must work together to address
Nearly every community in America is in the midst of an epidemic. Approximately 27.5 percent of Americans are obese, according to the 2011 America’s Health Rankings®. Incredibly, that’s an increase of 137 percent since 1990. Another 35 percent of Americans are overweight, and right now, more Americans live at an unhealthy weight than at a healthy weight.