The 1988 Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health stated “Diseases of dietary excess and imbalances rank among the leading causes of illness and death in the
United States, touch the lives of most Americans, and generate substantial health care costs” Furthermore, dietary factors are associated with 4 of the10 leading causes of death.
Over the past ten years, there has been a significant increase in the number of overweight or obese persons. Overweight or obesity is associated with a number of
diseases. These diseases are hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.
Heart disease is the nation’s and Arizona’s leading cause of death. The major dietary-related risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease are hypertension,
obesity and high blood cholesterol. All three of these risk factors can be prevented with dietary and lifestyle changes.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United. There were 8,851 cancer deaths in Arizona in 1999. Cancer is mostly a preventable disease with the chief causes being tobacco and inappropriate diet. Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day can reduce cancer rates by 20%.
Diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and it is the seventh leading cause of death in Arizona. Successful nutrition intervention which controls the individual blood sugar level can prevent the onset of diabetes complications.
