Daily HealthBeat Tip - December 12, 2007

Move more, eat better

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Americans have a big problem with being too big. Two out of three Americans are overweight or obese.

That’s bad news for health, because overweight and obesity raise the risks of conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.

And when you look deeper, you find some groups are in worse shape, and so facing greater risks.  The director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Dr. Griffin Rodgers:

``Among African American women age 20 or greater, it’s a staggering figure of 79.6 percent.’’ (7 seconds)

The institute has a campaign called ``Sisters Together: Move More, Eat Better.’’  It’s designed with African American women in mind.

It has practical tips, like changes in portion sizes and how to start an exercise program.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May, 26 2008