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| Did Americans get any healthier over past decade? |
| Mike Stobbe/AP |
| 12/31/2009 |
| ATLANTA – About 10 years ago the government set some lofty health goals for the nation to reach by 2010. So how did we do? By many measures, not so hot. There are more obese Americans than a decade ago, not fewer. We eat more salt and fat, not less. More of us have high blood pressure. More of our children haveuntreated tooth decay. But the nation has made at least some progress on many other goals. Vaccination rates improved. Most workplace injuries are down. And deaths rates from stroke, cancer and heart disease are all dropping. As we move into a new decade, the government is analyzing how well the nation met the 2010 goals and drawing up a new set of goals for 2020 expected to be more numerous and — perhaps — less ambitious. * * * The Healthy People objectives were first created in the late 1970s to set an agenda for getting Americans to live longer, healthier lives. It was also an attempt to involve the public and emphasize that many health problems are preventable. ** * Right now, health officials are developing goals for 2020. The details are far from settled, but an advisory panel of experts has recommended that the new goals be more realistic. They also hope to make it more inviting to the public. For complete story go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091231/ap_on_he_me/us_med_healthy_people |
| Additional Information: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091231/ap_on_he_me/us_med_healthy_people |