In The State of Aging and Health in America 2007, the CDC reported that three behaviors -- smoking, poor diet, and a lack of physical activity -- were the root causes of almost 35 percent of U.S. deaths in the year 2000 because these behaviors are risk factors for heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.
The good news is that taking better care of yourself now will help you feel better in the future, and the CDC has some suggestions about where to start.
Healthy People 2010
Healthy People 2010 is a list of health goals that the CDC, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, hopes Americans will reach by the year 2010.
These recommended health goals are designed to encourage government and professional organizations across the country create programs that will help Americans improve their overall health and reduce disease.
While Healthy People 2010 addresses a range of health issues that include people aged two and older, many of the healthy people goals focus on older adults.
Healthy People 2010 Goals
Based on the target goals in Healthy People 2010, here are suggested health guidelines for older adults. Will you reach these goals by the year 2010?
- Oral Health: Reduce Complete Tooth Loss: Take care of your teeth. The guidelines call for reducing the number of adults aged 65 years or older who have lost all of their natural teeth.
- Get a Flu Vaccine, Every Year: The CDC hopes that by 2010 at least 90% of adults aged 65 years or older will have had a flu shot within the past year.
- Get a Pneumonia Vaccine: The target goal calls for 90% of adults aged 65 years or older to have ever received a pneumonia vaccine.
- Breast Health: Get a Mammogram: At least 70% of women aged 40 years or older will have had a mammogram in the past two years.
- Have Healthy Bones and Prevent Falling: Reduce Hip Fracture Hospitalizations: The CDC guidelines call for no more than 474 hip fracture hospitalizations per 100,000 persons aged 65 or older for men, and 416 hip fracture hospitalizations per 100,000 persons aged 65 years or older for women.
- Get a Colorectal Cancer Screening: Get a baseline colorectal screening at age 50; then follow your doctor’s advice.
Healthy People 2010 also recommends these health targets for people of all ages:
- Increase Leisure-Time Activity: No more than 20% of adults aged 18 years or older who have no leisure-time physical activity. [
- Eat Five Fruits and Vegetables Daily: The CDC hopes that at least 75% of people aged 2 years or older will consume at least two daily servings of fruit and at least three daily servings of vegetables, and at least one-third of these servings will be dark green or orange vegetables.
- Quit Smoking, Now
- Get Your Cholesterol Checked: The CDC recommends having your cholesterol checked at least every five years.
To read the full report and find links to more information about the health issues mentioned here, see Healthy People 2010.
