S.C. joins chronic disease battle
1.5M suffer in state, and first lady wants to raise awareness
1.5M suffer in state, and first lady wants to raise awareness
Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that eliminating three factors — poor diet, inactivity and smoking — would prevent:
80 percent of heart disease and stroke.
80 percent of Type 2 diabetes.
40 percent of cancer.
Walking, drinking more water and stubbing out cigarettes can help reduce the most expensive health care cost in the nation.
Chronic disease accounts for more than 75 cents of every health care dollar spent in the United States.
Jenny Sanford, wife of Gov. Mark Sanford, announced Friday at Roper Hospital that her Healthy South Carolina Challenge initiative will join Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, a national coalition formed in May to raise awareness about chronic disease and make the issue key in the 2008 presidential election.
The first lady's health challenge to educate residents about nutrition, physical activity and tobacco began two years ago.
Using those three measures, the state's 46 counties compete to be the healthiest. Past winners are Darlington and Laurens.
"We pay for people once they have chronic disease. We do not pay through our health care system to keep people from getting it, and that whole focus needs to shift," Sanford said.
Chronic disease has a clear human cost. This might be the first generation to be healthier than its children, said John Robitscher, executive director of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors and advisory board member of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.
"We need a national, bipartisan debate. We need to ask (presidential candidates), in fact demand from them, what they're going to do about chronic diseases in this country," Robitscher said.
South Carolina was chosen to be one of three primary launch sites for the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease because of its poor health statistics and the attention that will be paid to the state during the primary races.
The Palmetto State has the nation's fifth-highest adult obesity rate, according to a report released last week by the Trust for America's Health.
More than 1.5 million people in the state suffer from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma or depression, adding up to a combined cost of nearly $11 billion.
Reach Jill Coley at 937-5719 or jcoley@postandcourier.com.
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