Community Health Trends: Todd Barrett

Todd Barrett

Health 100

Public Health Community Trends

Professional interviewed: Professor Ray Merrill, a Health Science Professor at BYU

1.       Heart Disease:

In 1900 Heart Disease caused 8% of deaths but in today’s society in the 2000s Heart Disease causes 29.9% of deaths, which is one of the leading causes of death in the community where I live. Professor Merrill said that too many people are involved in bad diets, which increases the likelihood of Heart Disease. He also suggested that low activity and laziness are closely related to Heart Disease and increase the chances of us getting it. Merrill also gave ways we can overcome Heart Disease or ways we can decrease the chances of us getting Heart Disease. Those two ways are to live a more balanced healthy lifestyle and to participate in more exercise which will develop a more healthy heart.

2.       Cancer:

Professor Merrill described Cancer as being a huge issue in today’s community in fact it causes 23.0% of deaths. The patterns he described were that most Cancer is lifestyle related. He showed data that said that 30% of individuals are diagnosed with Cancer due to Tobacco use and 35% of individuals are diagnosed due to Poor Diets. Provo has one of the lowest levels of cancer rates in the country due to our healthy lifestyles, good support groups, and high activity. He described Breast Cancer is being diagnosed a lot more because of obesity, no breastfeeding, starting families at an older age, and alcohol.

3.       Accidents:

Accidents have always been a leading cause in deaths even since the 1900s. Professor Merrill said that automobile accidents are a big reason accidents take so many lives. Another big pattern he described was that people who are addicted to drugs have a higher likelihood of getting into fatal accidents. Sometimes we can’t prevent accidents from happening, that’s why they are called accidents but if we live safer lifestyles by getting into the habit of following safety rules we can decrease the death rate. Individuals who have a more high risk occupation are more likely to suffer from fatal accidents.

4.       Diabetes:

A consistent pattern that has been seen with those who have diabetes is a poor diet that does not meet there nutritional needs. Also growing obesity has been a large reason in why diabetes rates have been going up also. Professor Merrill charged fast food, Laziness, and not exercise with a huge contributor to individuals being diagnosed with diabetes. Ways to overcome diabetes are to eat healthy foods that meet the standard nutritional needs and to avoid fast food. People who exercise and live active and healthy lifestyles have  very low diabetes rates.

5.       Arthritis:

Arthritis affects 27% of the adult population and the chances of getting arthritis is higher among the more elderly population.  Arthritis is actually more common then Circulatory Diseases or Heart Disease but is not a deathly. Adults who are obese tend to have more severe arthritis pain than those who have a more healthy body weight. Professor Merrill also mentioned that people who have more severe arthritis pain also tend to be less happy. Though Arthritis does not cause any deaths it can cause pain and suffering and is less common among healthy active adults.