Top 5 Health Trends

David Gray

Top 5 Health Trends

I had the opportunity to talk with a public health professional named Todd Atwood from my hometown of the Mat-Su Valley, Alaska. He explained very clearly the top 5 trends that they’re working on. The first thing he mentioned was how much of a problem drugs, mostly methamphetamine and marijuana, have been in our area for the past 10 years. They have increased dramatically in the past 10 years. He said that the main thing they’re doing to stop this is promoting in different areas of the community how destructive and addictive these drugs are.

The second thing that he mentioned is a big problem in the community is STDs. When he mentioned that then I told him how our high schools made fun of each other for the STDs they were known for. He said that this is really becoming a serious problem. Obviously everyone isn’t getting STDs, but the rates are increasing. They are focusing on education children in public schools better to decrease this problem.

The third thing Mr. Atwood talked about is heart disease. I wasn’t too surprised upon hearing this one. Heart disease is the leading killer in the United States. He said that to help decrease this problem they are again, teaching children in schools, and also trying to promote around the Valley better diet and exercise. This leads to the next leading trend Atwood spoke of.

The fourth leading health trend the public health professionals are focusing on in the Valley is obesity. Atwood mentioned that obesity tends to be a problem in Alaska.  One of the main reasons behind this is long, cold, dark winter months. Both children and adults are being affected from this. He said that the main thing they are working on is encouraging physical activity and better diets. It is sad to see how many people in the Valley are obese.

The fifth thing that Mr. Atwood mentioned is the problem of tobacco and smoking. He wanted to tell me more things that they’re working on in the community, but I had to stop him here. He told me that education in public schools is the main thing they are doing to prevent this. He mentioned that many people start out smoking in middle school and high school. This was a fun assignment and it was interesting for me to see the top five trends in public health in my home community.