PROBLEMS WE FACE, SOLUTIONS WE NEEDCHART 1.1: CANCER DEATH RATES (PER 100,000 PEOPLE)125020015010050O~--L--
1972-1974 1992-1994DMaie- Female
13a healthy diet and lifestyle can prevent the majority of cancers in the
United States. Old age can and should be graceful and peaceful.
But cancer is only part of a larger picture of disease and death in
America. Looking elsewhere, we see that there is an overall pattern of
poor health. For example, we are rapidly becoming the heaviest people
on earth. Overweight Americans now significantly outnumber those
who maintain a healthy weight. As shown in Chart l.2, our rates of
obesity have been skyrocketing over the past several decades.^2
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, almost a third
of the adults twenty years of age and over in this country are obese! 3
One is considered obese if he or she is carrying more than a third of a
CHART 1.2: PERCENT OBESE POPULATION235
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1976-1980 1988-1994 1999-2000