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Chronic Disease Prevention
Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. They are also leading drivers of the nation’s $4.1 trillion in annual health care costs.
Many chronic diseases are caused by a short list of risk behaviors:
- Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
- Poor nutrition, including diets low in fruits and vegetables and high in sodium and saturated fats.
- Physical inactivity.
- Excessive alcohol use.
Chronic Disease Prevention at the Georgia Department of Public Health aims to reduce the burden in Georgia by
- Informing Georgia communities about all of the opportunities to create healthy people in healthy places;
- Protecting Georgians by reducing exposure to risk factors for chronic disease and warning them about those risk factors; and
- Preventing and controlling chronic diseases across the population and lifespan through tools like self-management education.
For more information, contact:
Page last updated 9/26/2024