Health News
- Cdc Says State Spends Less Than 8% Of What It Should On Preventing Use Of Tobacco; Companies Spend 13 Times As Much
Kentucky spends only 7.6 percent of what it should spend on preventing the use of tobacco, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its latest annual report on the subject. The state spent $4.33 million on tobacco-control programs...
- Kentucky 's Spending Of Tobacco Settlement On Tobacco-prevention Programs Fall Far Short Of What Cdc Recommends
Kentucky ranks 39th in the country in funding programs that prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report from a coalition of public-health organizations. Kentucky ranks sixth in high-school smoking in the 2013 Centers...
- U Of L Plans To Create Statewide Health Institute With $4 Million, Three-year Grant From Kentuckyone Health Hospital Firm
The University of Louisville is creating an institute to improve Kentucky's health through research, education and advocacy of health policies. KentuckyOne Health is giving the university $4 million over three years to establish the Commonwealth Institute...
- Report Links Smoking With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Other Diseases
By Melissa Landon Kentucky Health News Smoking is even more harmful than previously thought. It not only can cause lung cancer but also rheumatoid arthritis and a long list of other diseases, according to The Health Consequences of Smoking?50 Years of...
- Cdc Names Top 10 Public Health Achievements In Past Decade, Including Tobacco Control; Ky. Still Leads Nation In Tobacco Use
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have named the top 10 public health achievements of the last decade. They include controlling infectious diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis; fighting tobacco use; improving motor-vehicle safety by having...
Health News
U of L dean says $50 billion in annual health costs could be saved if Americans just walked more
Small changes in health behavior can have a huge impact on the public's overall health and well-being, and during National Public Health Week discussions last week, Dr. Craig Blakely, the new dean of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, talked about the important role played by public health in promoting healthy behavior, preventing disease and saving both lives and money.
Blakely pointed to obesity as an example of an emerging health-related crisis, which can be addressed with behavioral changes that make a significant difference like adding more physical activity to your day, according to a U of L release.
?If we all took exercise seriously by just walking, we could save $50 billion in cardiovascular disease-related costs,? Blakely said. ?A 10 percent weight loss equals a $5,000 savings in health-related complications. A typical desk worker could lose a pound a month by standing two hours a day.?
Blakely also addressed smoking bans, which are becoming popular in Kentucky, even though the state has the highest share of smokers (29 percent) of any state, leads the nation in high-school smokers (24 percent) and spends only a minuscule portion of its tobacco revenues to fight tobacco use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If every state adopted comprehensive smoke-free policies, said Blakely, $2 billion would be saved in smoking-related deaths, lung cancer treatments and care for related health complications over the course of several years, says the release.
Blakely highlighted several other examples of public health?s potential return on investment. For example, says the release, every dollar spent on childhood immunizations saves $18 on vaccine-preventable disease-related costs, every dollar spent in prenatal care translates to $6 in health care cost savings and for every dollar spent on fluoridated water saves $20 in dental care.
Public health research will continue to find effective ways to generate these cost savings, such as finding researching how to modify environments to encourage exercise or how to send strong messages that promote regular physical activity (Read more)
Blakely pointed to obesity as an example of an emerging health-related crisis, which can be addressed with behavioral changes that make a significant difference like adding more physical activity to your day, according to a U of L release.
?If we all took exercise seriously by just walking, we could save $50 billion in cardiovascular disease-related costs,? Blakely said. ?A 10 percent weight loss equals a $5,000 savings in health-related complications. A typical desk worker could lose a pound a month by standing two hours a day.?
Blakely also addressed smoking bans, which are becoming popular in Kentucky, even though the state has the highest share of smokers (29 percent) of any state, leads the nation in high-school smokers (24 percent) and spends only a minuscule portion of its tobacco revenues to fight tobacco use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If every state adopted comprehensive smoke-free policies, said Blakely, $2 billion would be saved in smoking-related deaths, lung cancer treatments and care for related health complications over the course of several years, says the release.
Blakely highlighted several other examples of public health?s potential return on investment. For example, says the release, every dollar spent on childhood immunizations saves $18 on vaccine-preventable disease-related costs, every dollar spent in prenatal care translates to $6 in health care cost savings and for every dollar spent on fluoridated water saves $20 in dental care.
Public health research will continue to find effective ways to generate these cost savings, such as finding researching how to modify environments to encourage exercise or how to send strong messages that promote regular physical activity (Read more)
- Cdc Says State Spends Less Than 8% Of What It Should On Preventing Use Of Tobacco; Companies Spend 13 Times As Much
Kentucky spends only 7.6 percent of what it should spend on preventing the use of tobacco, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its latest annual report on the subject. The state spent $4.33 million on tobacco-control programs...
- Kentucky 's Spending Of Tobacco Settlement On Tobacco-prevention Programs Fall Far Short Of What Cdc Recommends
Kentucky ranks 39th in the country in funding programs that prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report from a coalition of public-health organizations. Kentucky ranks sixth in high-school smoking in the 2013 Centers...
- U Of L Plans To Create Statewide Health Institute With $4 Million, Three-year Grant From Kentuckyone Health Hospital Firm
The University of Louisville is creating an institute to improve Kentucky's health through research, education and advocacy of health policies. KentuckyOne Health is giving the university $4 million over three years to establish the Commonwealth Institute...
- Report Links Smoking With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Other Diseases
By Melissa Landon Kentucky Health News Smoking is even more harmful than previously thought. It not only can cause lung cancer but also rheumatoid arthritis and a long list of other diseases, according to The Health Consequences of Smoking?50 Years of...
- Cdc Names Top 10 Public Health Achievements In Past Decade, Including Tobacco Control; Ky. Still Leads Nation In Tobacco Use
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have named the top 10 public health achievements of the last decade. They include controlling infectious diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis; fighting tobacco use; improving motor-vehicle safety by having...