America’s 5 Biggest Health Issues

America's 5 Biggest Health Issues
America's 5 Biggest Health Issues

“Health is wealth”. This saying has proven to be true in so many ways and can either give credence to a nation’s perception or further ruin it. The growth and development enjoyed by countries of the world are measured by the efficiency of their governance, economy, infrastructure, education, security, and health. In other words, any country that doesn’t pay attention to these areas cannot be rated or classified as one of the world powers. America of truth has registered its dominance in the world by focusing on these areas and ensuring that it continues to grow.

Hence, the importance of reinvention cannot be overemphasized. And anywhere there’s a need for reinvention, it then implies that some challenges or problems ought to be overcome. Talking about health, America has had its own fair share of health challenges among its people. We would be looking at what the biggest health issues in America are. Not just that, we would also look to proffer solutions to them and also future possibilities for rectifying these health challenges.

Heart Disease

By a comfortable distance, heart disease has been the biggest health issue that America has been battling. The statistics are baffling, it is responsible for about a fourth of all deaths annually in the U.S. statistics also show that someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Even more alarming, one person dies of a heart attack every 37 seconds. Annually, about 645,000 people die of heart disease. In a study carried out, about 120 million Americans suffer from heart disease, which is about half of the country’s population. And it currently costs the U.S. well over $250 billion yearly.

Two of the main causes or risk factors of heart disease are high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This points to the fact that the best remedies are important changes to lifestyle choices. This includes dieting, choice of food, avoiding meals that are high in fat and salt, coupled with reducing sedentary living. For drug therapy, statins are prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, aspirins are used to prevent blood clots, and beta-blockers are used to treat heart disease. Going forward, herbal remedy has shown good signs to help in the prevention of heart complications such as Green tea and pomegranate.

Obesity

This is another health issue that is on the rampage in America. Over 40% of Americans are obese and about 70% are overweight. These numbers once again speak volumes about the kind of lifestyle that most Americans live, the food they eat, and the level of sedentary lifestyle that they live. There are a couple of reasons responsible for obesity they include high blood pressure, and high blood sugar levels, this is called metabolic syndrome. Other causes include processed foods, food addiction, high insulin, and more. And also increase the likelihood of the individual having cancer, diabetes, and stroke.

Obese Americans spend an estimated $150 million yearly on additional healthcare expenses. The best remedies for obesity are diet therapy and exercise, as they are lifestyle choices that would help the person be better. Drugs like Orlistat, Fastin, Contrave, and Saxenda all help to block a certain amount of fat receptors. These drugs have been approved by the FDA(Food and Drug Administration). Private Gastric Balloon Surgery is also another way to take out fat directly. Going forward, hormonal treatment holds a lot of promise with obesity.

Diabetes

Diabetes is also another big health issue in America with the most common being types 1 and 2. Type 1 occurs when the pancreas can no longer produce insulin and type 2 has a lot of hereditary factors attached to it. Statistics show that 32 million Americans have diabetes. There are a number of complications that could arise as a result of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, neuropathy, hearing loss, and more. Type 1 diabetes is mainly treated with insulin while type 2 is treated with exercise and diet. For type 2 diabetes that is not beyond the control of the individual herbal remedies like Aloe vera, cinnamon, and ginger have been propounded to be of immense help going forward.

Depression

Depression has a 9% negative national impact on the health sector of America. Depression is a psychological disorder in which a person has a long and consistent bout of sadness and hopelessness. This often degenerates down to physical and emotional issues. Statistics show that about 17 million Americans have had at least one major depressive episode. One reason for the continuous occurrence in different people is that people haven’t come to see mental health as a real health issue. People who suffer from depression need to seek help. Talking of help the most recognized treatment for depression is therapy as well as drugs like Celexa, and Lexapro which have also been effective.

Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s Disease is another huge health issue in America and it has a national health impact of 2.7%. Crohn’s disease is responsible for the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.  Thus causing ulcers among other complications. There are 33,000 new cases every year and it is becoming more common in the U.S. It can result in life-threatening illnesses such as bleeding, holes in the intestine, and infection among others, and requires a medical diagnosis to detect which involves eliminating other possible scenarios and it is an illness that still needs plenty of research as the root cause isn’t readily pinpointable. It, however, has been often associated with the immune system, genes, and environment.

There is no specific cure for it, however, the illness can be well managed. Management techniques include dietary changes, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and surgery for more complicated cases. Going forward, a new possible solution to the symptoms of Crohn’s disease is cannabis. Research shows that cannabis has been effective in reducing abdominal pain, minimizing diarrhea, and controlling nausea. These are the main symptoms of Crohn’s disease and if these are eliminated there would be a huge sigh of relief. Some other conditions that cannabis helps with include epilepsy, glaucoma, chronic pain, and lots more

SHARE
I'm NOT a doctor! I'm just passionate about health and healthy leaving. The information on this website, such as graphics, images, text and all other materials, is provided for reference and educational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. The content is not intended to be complete or exhaustive or to apply to any specific individual's medical condition.