overview of nutrition

Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Physical Activity and Good Nutrition: Essential Elements to Prevent Chronic Diseases and Obesity

At A Glance 2008
Chronic diseases accounted for 5 of the leading 6 causes of death in 2002 in the United States. The prolonged illness and disability associated with many chronic diseases also decreases the quality of life for millions of Americans. Much of the chronic disease burden is preventable. Physical inactivity and unhealthy eating contribute to obesity and a number of chronic diseases, including some cancers, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

The Obesity Epidemic

In the past 30 years, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased sharply for both adults and children. Since 1976–1980, the prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults has approximately doubled. In 2005–2006, more than 34% of adults aged 20 years or older were obese. The prevalence of overweight among children aged 2–5 years increased from 5.0% during 1976–1980 to 13.9% during 2003–2004. During the same period, the prevalence increased from 6.5% to 18.8% among young people aged 6–11 years, and 5.0% to 17.4% among those aged 12–19 years.

People who are obese are at increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis-related disabilities, and some cancers. The estimated total cost of obesity in the United States in 2000 was about $117 billion.

Promoting regular physical activity and healthy eating and creating an environment that supports these behaviors are essential to addressing the problem.

Lack of Physical Activity

Regular physical activity reduces people’s risk for heart attack, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure and may reduce their risk for stroke. It also helps to control weight; contributes to healthy bones, muscles, and joints; reduces falls among older adults; helps to relieve the pain of arthritis; reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression; and is associated with fewer hospitalizations, physician visits, and medications. Physical activity can also help people avoid developing functional limitations, can improve physical function, and can provide therapeutic benefits for people with heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, arthritis, lung disease, and other chronic diseases. Moreover, physical activity need not be strenuous to be beneficial. For example, adults of all ages benefit from moderate-intensity physical activity, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking most days of the week.

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, more than 50% of U.S. adults do not get enough physical activity to provide health benefits; 24% are not active at all in their leisure time. Activity decreases with age, and sufficient activity is less common among women than men and among those with lower incomes and less education. Insufficient physical activity is not limited to adults. About two-thirds of young people in grades 9–12 are not engaged in recommended levels of physical activity. Daily participation in high school physical education classes dropped from 42% in 1991 to 33% in 2005.

The Critical Role of Good Nutrition

Research shows that good nutrition can help to lower people’s risk for many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, some cancers, diabetes, and osteoporosis. However, a large gap remains between healthy dietary patterns and what Americans actually eat. In 2005, about 1 in 3 U.S. adults ate fruit two or more times a day, and 1 in 4 ate vegetables three or more times a day.

Good nutrition begins in infancy. Children who were not breastfed are at increased risk for overweight, asthma, and some childhood infections. Of concern for both children and adults, particularly in underdeveloped countries, is micro-nutrient malnutrition, which can negatively affect survival and growth for children, health and pregnancy outcomes for women, and resistance to illness for both.

CDC's National Leadership

CDC is committed to ensuring that all people, especially those at greater risk for health disparities, will achieve their optimal lifespan with the best possible quality of health in every stage of life. With agency-wide health protection goals that support healthy people in healthy places across all life stages, CDC is setting the agenda to enable people to enjoy a healthy life by delaying death and the onset of illness and disability by accelerating improvements in public health.

The mission of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO) is to lead strategic public health efforts to prevent and control obesity, chronic disease, and other health conditions through regular physical activity and good nutrition. Their goals include the following:

Increasing health-related physical activity through population-based approaches.
Improving aspects of dietary quality most related to population burden of chronic disease and unhealthy child development.
Decreasing prevalence of obesity through prevention of excess weight gain and maintenance of healthy weight loss.

Progress in Obesity

CDC’s efforts have helped to increase recognition of obesity as a national public health problem. During 2000–2006, the number of articles on obesity published in the national press increased from 2,000 to 6,000 (International Food Information Council). At both state and national levels, increases in the prevalence of obesity appear to be slowing. For example, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found no increase in obesity prevalence among women during 1999–2006, and Arkansas reported a modest decrease in the prevalence of overweight among children.

Last Updated February 2010

For more information or additional copies of this document, please contact the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Mail Stop K–24,
4770 Buford Highway NE,
Atlanta GA 30341-3717,
Telephone (800) 232-4636; ccdinfo@cdc.gov