The Healthy People Project was created in the 1970's to set goals for Americans to live longer, healthier lives; and every 10 years the Department of Health and Human Services reports on the progress that was made. In 2010 there are more obese citizens, more citizens with high blood pressure, more children with untreated cavities and more fat and salt being eaten. However, vaccinations are up; most workplace injuries are down; and deaths from cancer, heart disease and stroke have dropped. With only about 20% of the goals being reached, it seems the Healthy People Project needs a "goalkeeper".
New York City is trying to be healthier by reducing salt in many manufactured and packaged foods. Eighty percent of Americans' salt intake is already in food, resulting in Americans eating about twice the recommended amount and increasing risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. Among other reductions, the city wants a 40% salt reduction in breakfast cereals, 25% in bread and cold cuts and 30% in salad dressings. The goal is to reduce salt intake 20% in 5 years - by 2015; but because the reductions are voluntary, many manufacturers will take them with a grain of salt.
Then there's airplane air, which is healthier than many travelers think. Although colds and flu can be passed by coughs and sneezes, there's little chance of being infected if the sick person is more than 2 rows away and is present less than 8 hours. Also, most planes are divided into seven-row ventilation sections, in which cabin air is completely refreshed about 20 times per hour and is circulated through filters removing 99.97% of bacteria and virus-carrying particles. Touching contaminated surfaces - overhead bins, tray tables, lavatory doors - is usually how air travelers get sick. That's a "plane" fact.
It's also a fact Norway is the world's most infection-free country. A key factor in Norway's public health system accomplishing this was a severe cutback on antibiotic use starting in the 1980's. According to the World Heath Organization, antibiotic resistance is one of the leading threats to public health. Because fewer antibiotics are prescribed in Norway than in other countries, Norwegians aren't as likely to develop resistance to them and thus can fight the staph infection "Methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus" (MRSA). Because learning from Norway's example would save approximately 19,000 U.S. lives yearly, hopefully the U.S. won't be a slow learner.
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