Report card on U.S. Health trends and statistics now available for 2011.

We know our readers are interested in health and life choices. Like many, you may be interested in the report card released each year by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control on the health of the nation. In Brief, provides a summary of the larger report in text, tables and graphs. For those who are more data-obsessed, the entire report is available for download in its entirety or in sections.

PositiveTip: Make positive life choices each day to improve this report card in the years to come.

A large portion of cancers are preventable by healthier lifestyle choices.

Almost 40% of cancers are due to avoidable life choices according to British researchers. Tobacco causes 23% of cases in men and 15.6% in women. The next largest cause of cancer in men is lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diets, and for women it is being overweight. The use of alcohol was also a significant cause of cancer. 

PositiveTip: Your lifestyle choices determine to a large extent your risk of cancer--not just fate.

42% of Americans will be obese by 2030 if current trends continue.

The U.S. Centers for Disese Control revealed at a press briefing they are projecting that 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030! The economic burden of these projections comes with a staggering $550 billion price tag. HBO is premiering a four-part documentary on obesity and its risks. The third episode focuses on childhood obesity, and you can watch it online for no charge here.

PositiveTip: Watch The Weight of the Nation with your family, friends and neighbors. To win, we have to lose!

Short or irregular sleep may predispose to diabetes.

Shorting sleep regularly or sleeping out of phase with the day-night cycles (typical of shift work) seems to produce physiological changes that predispose people to type 2 diabetes. Researchers confrimed this when 21 participants lived in a sleep laboratory with no contact with the outside world for 6 weeks. Fortunately, these changes reverted during the 9 day recovery period.

PositiveTip: Regularity in sleep can strengthen your resistance to diabetes (and probably other diseases, too).

Causal link between BMI and ischemic heart disease strengthened in new study.

British researchers have found that for each 4 point increase in body mass index (BMI), the risk of ischemic heart disease increases by 52% when factoring in genetics. This evidence strengthens the causal link between increased BMI and heart disease. The authors suggested that the reason for this association is that higher BMI influences well-known intermediate risk factors like hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

PositiveTip: The evidence continues to grow--lowering your BMI to a healthy range will lower your risk of heart disease.

16% of pregnant teens use illicit drugs in the U.S.

A new report shows that the number of babies born with opiate withdrawal symptoms has more than tripled over the last decade in the U.S. This rate has increased from 1.2 to 3.39 per 1000 births (p>0.001). The average cost per such birth is now $53,400 compared to $9,500 for all other hospital births. These babies are more likely to have a low birthweight, respiratory complications, feeding difficulties, and seizures.

PositiveTip: Do all you can to influence expectant mothers to avoid the unnecessary use of drugs and medications.

Physical exercise and computer use both associated with less cognitive impairment.

Senior residents of Olmstead County, MN who reported getting any amount of moderate exercise and used a computer at any point in the previous year were 64% less likely to have mild cognitive impairment compared to those who reported neither of those activities. This is the first study to explore the combined effects of physical activity and computer use, which could be indicators of a disciplined and healthy lifestyle.

PositiveTip: Daily physical activity and mental stimulation could help keep your body and mind spry!

Regular jogging increased longevity.

A 35 year follow-up study involving more than 1878 participants has shown that joggers have a 44% lower relative risk of death compared with non-joggers. This represents an age-adjusted survival benefit of 6.2 years for men and 5.6 years for women. The joggers in this study jogged at least 1 hour per week at a slow to moderate pace. Most joggers also reported an overall positive sense of well-being. This data was presented at EuroPRevent 2012, and will be published later.

PositiveTip: Moderate, regular physical activity can improve quality of life and extend it also!

More than 114,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant to save their lives.

Social media giant Facebook has announced a cooperative effort with Donate Life America aimed at increasing the number of organ donors in the U.S. New Facebook features allow users to share the stories behind their decisions to become donors, and their experiences as donors. 

PositiveTip: Consider being an organ donor! It could be life-saving to someone else.