A Minute of Health with CDC
Surveillance for Certain Health Behaviors Among States and Selected Local Areas
--- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2004
January 5, 2007
[Announcer] This podcast is presented by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. CDC – safer, healthier people.
[Matthew Reynolds] We all spend too much time fending off calls from
telemarketers. But have you ever received a call asking about your health?
If so,
you’ve participated in one of public health’s most important surveys.
This telephone survey is the “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System,” or
BRFSS for short. A team from CDC has just published the data collected for
2004.
Perhaps the most worrying finding is the increase in obesity among adults.
Over
half of Americans in all states are overweight.
Physical activity reduces the risk of disease, but roughly twenty percent
of
Americans get no exercise at all.
The survey also tells us that about twenty percent of the population reports
smoking and five percent reports heavy drinking.
The survey results suggest that many Americans should take better care
of their
health. Obesity and smoking increase health risks. Physical activity
reduces the
risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Be sure to join us next week on A Minute of Health with CDC.
[Announcer] To access the most accurate and relevant health information
that
affects you, your family, and your community, please visit www.cdc.gov.
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