*All statistics refer to risk in US
Chronic Disease
Incidence (lifetime risk of developing) or prevalence, death rate (risk of dying, if applicable)
Heart Disease 1:2, 1:4
Cancer 1:2, 1:5
- Male 1:2, 1:5
- Prostate 1:9, 1:41
- Lung 1:15, 1:18
- Colon & Rectum 1:23, 1:55
- Bladder 1:26, 1:108
- Skin 1:36, 1:256
- Pancreas 1:60, 1:72
- Female 1:3, 1:5
- Breast 1:8, 1:39
- Lung 1:17, 1:22
- Colon & Rectum 1:25, 1:60
- Uterus 1:33, 1:159
- Thyroid 1:52, 1:1429
- Skin 1:56, 1:526
- Stroke 1:4, 1:20
Diabetes 1:10, 1:35
Overweight & Obesity (20 years old+)
- Overweight (including obesity) ~70%
- Obese ~40% (~30% in 2000)
Asthma 1:13
Alzheimer’s 1:10 (Age 65+)
- Age
- 65-74 1:33
- 75-85 1:6
- 85+ 1:3
- Expected increase from 5.8 to 13.9 million cases by 2060
Autism 1:40
- Surveillance year
- 2000 1:150
- 2008 1:88
- 2016 1:54
Attention Deficit 1:10 (1:15 in 2000)
As shown in these statistics, chronic diseases are the most prevalent diseases afflicting Americans in the modern age. Heart disease and cancer affect nearly one in two Americans. Type 2 diabetes affects one in ten. Obesity is now around 40% of the population and still rising.
At the same time, an increasing number of diet studies are showing undeniable evidence that food is a major factor in the rise of chronic diseases. In other words, food choices have a significant impact on preventing and reversing the most common chronic diseases. By choosing the right diet, individuals can greatly reduce these numbers.
Mental Health
Mental Illness
- Adult
- Any Mental Illness in 2019 1:5 (1:6 in 2008)
- Severe Mental Illness in 2019 1:20 (1:27 in 2008)
- Adolescent
- Any Mental Illness 1:2
- Severe Mental Illness 1:5
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Adult
- Any anxiety 1:6
- Mild 1:10
- Moderate 1:29
- Severe 1:37
Depression
- Adult
- At least one major depressive episode in 2019 1:13 (1:15 in 2009)
- At least one major depressive episode with severe impairment in 2019 1:19 (1:25 in 2009)
- Adolescent
- At least one major depressive episode in 2019 1:7 (1:12 in 2009)
- At least one major depressive episode with severe impairment in 2019 1:9 (1:17 in 2009)
Thoughts of Suicide
- Adult
- Had serious thoughts of suicide in 2019 1:21 (1:27 in 2008)
- Made a suicide plan in 2019 1:71 (1:100 in 2008)
- Attempted suicide in 2019 1:167
Divorce
- Percentage of marriages that ended in divorce between 2010 and 2018 ~38%
Not only do Americans suffer from poor health physically, but also mentally. Mental health in the US has worsened in the past decade. Now, one in five Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness. One in six have generalized anxiety disorder. One in seven adolescents and one in thirteen adults experience depression. Thoughts of suicide are increasing. Mass shootings remain a major issue. The overall trends do not look good.
Read More
“What is the healthiest diet?” https://ponadr.blog/2019/10/04/what-is-the-healthiest-diet/
Sources
Heart Disease
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000659
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
Cancer
https://seer.cancer.gov/archive/csr/1975_2016/
Stroke
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1804492#
Diabetes
https://www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/statistics-about-diabetes
Obesity
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Asthma
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/asthma.htm
Alzheimer’s
https://www.alz.org/media/Documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0920-alzheimers-burden-double-2060.html
Autism
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html
https://researchautism.org/new-studies-estimate-autism-prevalence-at-1-in-40/
Attention Deficit
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/adhd.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/timeline.html
Mental Illness
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db378.htm
Depression
Thoughts of Suicide
Divorce
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/national-marriage-divorce-rates-00-18.pdf