Community Health Trends

Kelsey Badger

Interviewed Dr. Rod Badger

Cardiologist Professor at the University of Utah

Salt Lake City County, Utah

Number one problem is a tremendous increase incidence of obesity in adults, and even more worrisome in children and teenagers.  This “fat epidemic” is due to change in eating habits trending toward excess Fast Food, processed food, and lack of natural fruits, vegetables, and grains.  In addition, lack of exercise and outdoor activities.  Too much time in front of video games and TV.  Obesity leads to chronic illness including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep apnea, premature arthritis of weight baring joints such as knees and hips.

There has been great success with reduction of smoking in US adults.  This has led to a decrease in cardiac deaths and a decrease in smoking related cancers.  However, despite this public awareness, the incidence of smoking in teenagers as been on the rise.  Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs in society.  It is very difficult for teenagers to drop this habit.  Smoking increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, emphysema, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.

There is a trend towards poor compliance with vaccination of children that has led to an outbreak of previous rare diseases.  One example is the recent flurry of people developing Whooping Cough.  Such infectious diseases can be successfully avoided if ALL children are vaccinated, but will not work if a significant number of children fail to become vaccinated.  Lack of vaccinations can be due to poor immigrants who do not have access to health care, and are unaware that such vaccinations are free at County Health Clinics.  The greater problem is a fear that vaccinations contain chemicals such as mercury that may contribute to children developing Autism.  A research paper was published in the esteemed British medical journal The Lancet that claimed to prove this theory.  That vaccinations of children led to autism.  This paper had tremendous world wide acclaim and millions of parents became afraid to vaccinate their children.  Subsequently it was found that the author of this paper had made false claims.  The theory and purported proof were a fraud and the scientist was indicted as a criminal for his actions.  Nevertheless, the fear still persists and this has led to many parents deciding not to vaccinate their children.  As a result, there is a re-emergence of several serious infectious diseases such as Measles, Mumps, and Whooping Cough.

            There has recently been a large diagnosis of children developing ADHD, also known as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ADHD is a problem with inattentiveness, over-activity and impulsivity. These problems usually will occur out of the normal range for a child’s age and development. ADHD can be hereditary or from depression, lack of sleep, learning disabilities, and so forth. However, ADHD can be easily treated with medication such as Dextroamphetamine and Lisdexamfetamine.

            Depression is also a very common public health trend. It has been stated that within the next two decades, depression will become the most dominant illness in developed countries such as the United States and Europe. Although depression cannot kill you directly, it can dramatically compromise the functional capacity, emotional state, and can lead to suicidal thoughts. Depression should be taken seriously and medication should always be an option if someone has it severely