National Healthcare Disparities Report - LDI Health Economist
National Healthcare Disparities Report - LDI Health Economist
National Healthcare Disparities Report - LDI Health Economist
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Effectiveness of Care<br />
Lifestyle Modification<br />
Importance<br />
Mortality<br />
Number of deaths per year attributable to smoking (2000-2004)................................443,000 (MMWR, 2008)<br />
Chapter 2 Lifestyle Modification<br />
Prevalence<br />
Number of adult current cigarette smokers (2010)..............................................45.3 million (MMWR, 2011b)<br />
Number of obese adults (2007-2008)...................................................................72.5 million (MMWR, 2010b)<br />
Percentage of adults with no leisure-time physical activity (2009)......................................40% (Barnes, 2010)<br />
Percentage of children who are overweight ......................................................16.9% (Ogden & Carroll, 2010)<br />
Cost<br />
Total cost of smoking (2000-2004 est.)..................................................................$193 billion (MMWR, 2008)<br />
Total health care cost related to obesity (2008 est.)...............................................$147 billion (MMWR, 2008)<br />
Measures<br />
Unhealthy behaviors place many Americans at risk for a variety of diseases. Lifestyle practices account for<br />
more than 40% of the differences in health among individuals (Satcher & Higginbotham, 2008). A recent<br />
study examined the effects on incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, diabetes, and cancer of<br />
four healthy lifestyles: never smoking, not being obese, engaging in at least 3.5 hours of physical activity per<br />
week, and eating a healthy diet (higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain bread and lower<br />
consumption of red meat).<br />
Engaging in one healthy lifestyle compared with none cut the risk of developing these diseases in half while<br />
engaging in all four cut risk by 78%. Unfortunately, healthy lifestyle practices have declined over the past<br />
two decades (Ford, et al., 2009).<br />
Helping patients choose and maintain healthy lifestyles is a critical role of health care professionals. This<br />
year, the Lifestyle Modification section includes measures for both adults and children. Whenever children<br />
are mentioned in the section, the report is actually referencing the parents or guardians who were interviewed<br />
on behalf of the children. The NHDR tracks several quality measures for modifying unhealthy lifestyles,<br />
including the following six core report measures:<br />
n Counseling smokers to quit smoking.<br />
n Counseling obese adults about exercise.<br />
n Obese adults who do not exercise.<br />
n Counseling children about exercise.<br />
n Counseling obese adults about healthy eating.<br />
n Counseling children about healthy eating.<br />
110 <strong>National</strong> <strong><strong>Health</strong>care</strong> <strong>Disparities</strong> <strong>Report</strong>, 2011