Published: May 27, 2009 04:39 pm      

Self-inflicted — 05/28/09

Poor lifestyle choices lead to major health probems in state

It’s no secret that the most serious health problems in Kentucky — cancer, diabetes. Heart disease, emphysema — are self-inflicted and the best thing this state can do to improve its overall health is for its people to live healthier lifestyles. Until that happens, chronic, life-threatening diseases will continue to plague Kentuckians at a much higher rate than people in the rest of the nation. In fact, Kentucky has the nation’s highest rate of chronic diseases.

The state’s 2009 Behavioral Risk Factors confirm what most of us already knew: As a state, too many of us are too fat, don’t exercise enough and smoke, and we are paying a high price for that with high rates of diabetes, stroke, heart disease and cancer.

The latest survey conducted by the Division of Prevention and Quality Improvement in the Kentucky Department for Public Health found that two out of every three Kentucky adults — 66.8 percent — are overweight, but the problem goes far beyond just carrying a few extra pounds. The survey reports that 30.2 percent of Kentucky adults are so overweight that they are classified as obese.

It’s no wonder then that 9.8 percent of Kentuckians report having been told by a doctor that they have diabetes. In addition, 5.8 percent of Kentucky adults have been diagnosed as having coronary heart disease, and 3.5 percent of Kentucky adults have had a stroke.

However, one statistic leads all others in explaining Kentucky’s high rate of chronic illnesses: 25.2 percent of Kentuckians smoke. While that’s a much lower percent age of smokers than just a few years ago, this state still has among the nation’s highest smoking rate.

To be sure, some overweight individuals show little or no ill effects from the extra pounds, and some smokers live long and perfectly healthy lives. But they are the exception. Statistics show that smokers have much high rates of cancer, emphysema and heart disease than non-smokers, and even miss more days of work because of relatively minor ailments than non-smokers. The link between obesity and diabetes is unmistakable.

Having the nation’s highest rate of chronic illness is a negative statistic only the people of this state can do something about. Until more of us commit ourselves to living healthier, we will continue to suffer the consequences of our own bad habits