Power Up for Better Health By Donnie Cook, Ph.D.

The ability of people to improve their overall health status depends on their willingness to power up. Everyone who desires to improve his or her health must take the time to power up, that is to learn the facts about current health issues, their family history, and their own risk factors as they relate to health. Power up is to acquire health knowledge, take responsibility and action for self-improvement. Health status can be viewed as excellent, good, and poor. In general, excellent health can be defined as the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit -- free from diseases. Good health may be indicated as consisting of one or two controlled health conditions. On the other hand, poor health is indicated when one or more uncontrolled diseases exist such as chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, cancer, pneumonia and influenza, etc.

Risk factors promote the development and enhance the severity of diseases leading to poor health. There are two types of risk factors:

• Major risk factors that cannot be changed ­ age, gender, heredity, and ethnicity
• Contributing risk factors that can be controlled ­ high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, and diabetes

Power up and learn more about the contributing risk factors for improving your health. These factors can be prevented or changed through diet and lifestyle modifications. Know the warning signs and the health risk of each!

Did you know?

• Smoking is the single most preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. It damages the artery, allowing for plaque build-up; hence smokers have more than twice the occurrence of heart attacks than non-smokers. Between 1991 and 1999, smoking increased among high school students from 28 to 35%.
• The greater your bodyweight above ideal weight--the greater your risk for chronic diseases. Among Alabama's adults population 35.7% are overweight and 23.2% are obese.
• Physical inactivity increases risk for chronic diseases. Among Alabama's adult population 78% do not participate in regular and sustained physical activity.
• According to the American Diabetes Association, 16 million people in the United States are diabetics; people with diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease.
• Over 50 million people have hypertension/ high blood pressure and only 27.4% are receiving adequate treatment.