Research & Data Services

February 12-16, 2024
#LoveData24

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 –  Blog Post by Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE

Did you know…

• Prolonged sitting increases risk of spinal, shoulder, carpal tunnel, and leg disorders
• Sitting for more than 3 hours/day increases risk for all-cause mortality deaths
• Sitting too much increases cholesterol and accelerates weight gain
• People who sit most of the day and people who smoke have the same risk of heart attack

Question: What is the single most important thing you can do this very moment for health?

Answer: MOVE!

Regular exercise is one of the most important things you do to improve your health. For those that don’t like the term “exercise”, let’s just use the term “movement” because virtually any movement counts, even those that don’t resonate as “exercise”. Throughout the day, aim to move more and sit less because some activity is better than no activity. Though seemingly small now, it will add up over time to equate to added health benefits.  

The CDC recommends 150 – 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity/week or 75 minutes to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity/week. These minutes can be broken down into smaller chunks of time, such as 30 minutes/day for 5 days. Your activity can be walking, jogging, running, dancing, biking, mowing the lawn, walking the dog, golf, hiking, or virtually anything that will get you moving.

Research & Data Services

February 12-16, 2024
#LoveData24

Tuesday, February 13, 2024 – Blog Post by Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE

Today we will focus on health disparities. The term health disparity refers to differences in health and health care between groups that typically stem from broader inequities. Multiple definitions of health disparity exist including:

Healthy People 2030 definition of health disparity

A particular type of health difference that is linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage,” and that adversely affects groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of health disparity

Preventable differences in the burden, disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and other population groups and communities.

*Note that each definition refers to differences, and these differences are driven by a number of factors, including genetics, health behaviors, social and environmental factors, and access to health care.

Health disparities exist across all demographics in the US, and addressing them is essential to not only to those impacted, but to the overall health our our nation. Health disparties place a significant financial burden on individual, families, and the health care system.

Heart disease has been the number one cause of death for the last 100 years. In 2021 heart disease and stroke (5^th leading cause of death) took more lives in the US than all forms of cancer and lower respiratory disease.