Five Growing Health Conditions in the United States

The medical well-being of Americans is a very important topic that so many health care professionals are dedicated to. There are numerous advances being made on many health issues in laboratories across the country, but there are also some conditions which continue to grow more widespread because of various reasons. What are some of the fastest growing health problems in our country today?

Five fast growing health problems in the United States

1. Obesity- The fact is that Americans are some of the most overweight humans in the entire world as a whole. The CDC has a great page on the trends in obesity in the United States, which details the rise of obesity as a health concern. The causes of this rise in obesity are often discussed and argued about in medical literature. Most often the cause of obesity is tied to the lack of exercise combined with the lack of a healthy diet. As a whole the American people do not eat a healthy diet at all.

2. Asthma- There is a very concerning trend going on in our country with asthma rates, especially among children. Most experts place the percentage of the population with diagnosed asthma at a little above 6% now, but the rates are higher among children. The number one cause of this increase in asthma is thought to be the air quality, or the lack of the quality of the air. In fact, some recent studies have directly tied the decrease in air quality levels to an increase in asthma cases.

3. Depression- Depression is something that is a serious medical problem, but to some it is still a stigma, which is a real problem medically. In fact, recent stats show that at least 80% of depression sufferers aren't on any treatment, and 54% of people think that depression is a personal weakness. The stress of life in general is so high in current times, which is likely leading to increased depression rates.

4. Food Poisoning- This is a topic that has been in the news quite a bit recently with the salmonella recalls, but it is something that should be very concerning to the American people. Outbreaks of food poisoning are on the increase after quite a few years of decreases, and with serious diseases such as mad cow's disease and salmonella this is something that must be dealt with quickly.

5. Antibiotic resistance- This is more of a broad based problem, and this is occurring around the world. Doctors have prescribed so many antibiotics, even for infections where they are not needed, which is causing antibiotic resistance to grow. Antibiotics are certainly needed in some cases, but we need to be wise about when we use them.