San Diego Public Health

                The top trends of concern for adults in San Diego are tobacco use, poor diet, inadequate physical activity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and cancer. These are all part of a campaign called “3-4-50,” meaning “3 behaviors that cause 4 chronic diseases that contribute to over 50% of all deaths worldwide.” The three behaviors are poor diet, inadequate physical activity, and tobacco use. The four chronic diseases are cancer, heart disease and stroke, diabetes and pulmonary diseases (asthma). The 3-4-50 diseases cost about seven billion dollars a year in medical treatment for San Diego County residents. The five I will discuss in this paper are the three behaviors, as well as the two most common diseases – cancer and heart disease.

                Poor diet habits are caused by a lack of wealth in some areas of San Diego County (ex. El Cajon, Spring Valley). The cost of living in San Diego is extremely high, and those with lower income often eat processed foods that are set at inexpensive prices. In addition, the public school system has unhealthy cafeteria choices (foods that are high in fat, carbohydrates, etc.). Public schools have made an attempt to reduce students’ unhealthy eating habits by banning sodas in school vending machines. They have also banned candy in many places.

                Inadequate physical activity is a cause of concern for San Diego County. Public Health campaigns have attempted to reduce this by having representatives appear on local news stations to discuss the benefits of exercising regularly. In addition, more money has been allocated to building school gyms, stadiums, and swimming pools, thereby encouraging sports teams and athletic participation in public schools. One cause of inadequate physical activity is the lack of sidewalks in some areas and prevalence of freeways. San Diego is trying to build more parks for recreational use with sidewalks so that residents may have safe areas to jog, walk their dogs, etc.

                Despite the decrease in tobacco use nationally in the last few decades, the tobacco use in San Diego remains relatively high. Lower-income areas of San Diego are particularly afflicted with this trend. The low cost of cigarettes and lower taxes compared to other states (New York) contribute to this trend. In addition, the prevalence of marijuana has led to smoking cigarettes as well or, in some cases, as a substitute for marijuana when it cannot be obtained. Public health campaigns continue to fight for areas such as parks to be smoke-free, reducing public smoking use and social acceptability.

                Heart disease is prevalent as one of the main causes of death in San Diego and nationwide. This is largely due to the 3 behaviors identified above. However, part of these numbers arise from people who are genetically-favored to be afflicted with these chronic disease. In addition, many people are uninsured in San Diego, partly due to the high rate of unemployment (second highest city unemployment rate in the country). This often leads to these people being unable to afford health care treatment once a problem with these diseases is discovered.

                Cancer is another leading cause of death in San Diego. These occurrences are largely due to unhealthy habits listed in the 3-4-50 campaign. Cancer and heart disease remain especially high in San Diego County when compared to outlying areas. However, as campaigns increase to change the three behaviors identified as detrimental, statistics are showing a decrease in number of deaths related to these two diseases. The levels of these are beginning to decrease match with the number of deaths of the surrounding areas.

San Diego Public Health

Jennifer Sizemore (student)