National Public Health Week highlights number one killer

Missouri health officials want to use National Public Health Week to highlight Missouri’s number one killer. Missouri is launching a ten year effort to lower the death rate due to cardiovascular disease. . The state health department says 34 other states have lower death rates caused by this disease. It cites figures showing more people died of this cause in 19-97 than the entire population of the six counties in Missouri’s bootheel. State health director Maureen Dempsey says the real solution is with each individual. She says Missouri is one of the nation’s leading couch potato states…that half of Missouri adults don’t get enough physical activity to achieve significant health benefits…that we have one of the highest smoking rates of any state…one-third of us is overweight…and 80 percent of us don’t eat proper amounts of fruits and vegetables.