What's killling us? Diseases that will kill 9 of 10 Americans

Next week the United Nations General Assembly will convene for a special summit, the first ever held to address the growing concerns of chronic diseases. These aren't the frightening headline-grabbing diseases that form the staple of sci-fi movies. Instead, these diseases are far more deadly, and in the U.S. they kill 9 out of 10 people. In fact, YOU may already be a victim.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - What are they? They're cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a variety of other chronic ailments. And worse, unlike some infectious diseases, they're quite preventable. 

This new, ultra-deadly pandemic threat is caused by we, ourselves. Sedentary lifestyles, poor eating habits, smoking, and other high-risk behavior causes most of these diseases. In a  time when humans know so much about their own biology and virtually everyone should be living to old age, millions are dying relatively young because they cannot manage their health. 

More than anything, the root causes are apathy and sloth.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in announcing the summit called the situation, "a public health emergency in slow motion."

Don't wait for the UN. Start managing your health today.

Still, not every country has the luxuries of modern medical care, and it's those countries that will form the basis of much discussion. For example, until a few years ago, Ethiopia had only one oncologist--for 80 million people. Today, that number has quadrupled--to just four.

In such situations, treatments are often prohibitive and expensive. Nearly all people die slow and painful deaths from diseases that could be otherwise cured if simple medical necessities were available. Working out just how to best make those resources available will consume much of the delegate's time. 

Meanwhile, advocates for other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, are planning to descend on the UN headquarters during the summit. However, their impact may be limited by the growing international fiscal crisis. 

Money is scarce and the UN is already strained providing humanitarian aid across the globe. Most notably, the UN is at the forefront of the famine in Somalia, a near-failed state whose southern provinces are dominated by Islamic militants in a constant state of civil war with the officially recognized government. As the UN devotes resources to feeding and treating the millions of refugees, it has less to devote to curing disease.

But perhaps the UN doesn't need extensive resources to make a difference after all. Poor countries aside, the people of wealthier nations can do much to prevent the spread of chronic disease by simply managing their health more effectively. While the UN will hopefully begin development of a program to address chronic disease in countries that offer virtually no standard of care to patients, their advice to the rest of the world will probably sound much like the advice any doctor would give their patient.

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Exercise, pay attention to your intake of calories, manage your weight, quit smoking, avoid excessive drinking, and take time to relax. Following such a simple prescription doesn't require UN intervention, it only requires self-discipline, and the desire to live a long, healthy and fulfilling life.
 
Still, if Americans listen to the UN as well as they listen to their doctors, the UN just may face one of its toughest challenges yet.

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