An Ounce of Prevention

First a confession. I am the poster child for the National Couch Potato Society.

Just ask my wife.

I don't eat right, I rarely exercise. Most of my day (and much of the night) is spent on the phone with clients while staring at a computer screen.

I don't smoke but I do enjoy a glass of wine on occasion. Sometimes I find two or three occasions to have some wine.

Genetics are on my side . . . at least that is my argument. Both sides of my family live well into their 80's. My maternal grandmother lived to be 96 and most of her brothers & sisters lived to 90+.

The folks at GE Healthcare are offering up some interesting stats.

Here are just a few.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world; however, at least 80% of premature deaths from cardiovascular heart disease and strokes could be prevented.

Alcohol, cholesterol and tobacco are the main risk factors driving disease incidence; all 3 of them are controllable by patients.

According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the world. Mammography could potentially save 47,000 lives over a 14-year period in a population of 58 million women aged 40-74 (US study).

Follow the link above for the rest of the list.