3 out of 4 Americans have a diagnosable chronic condition. Recent statistics show that cancer effects 33 percent of adults, 15 million Americans suffer from asthma, 65 percent of Americans are currently overweight or obese. The Centers for Disease Control says that one out of every three children born in 2000 will become diabetic. April 1999 study in Effective Clinical Practice.

Because of their poor diets and excess weight, people now in their 50s and 60s suffer from more health problems than their parents did at the same age. The Week Magazine, 5/4/07 http://www.veegle.com.

The leading (listed) causes of death 92004) in the U.S. are: Heart disease: 654,092; Cancer: 550,270; Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 150,147; Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 123,884; Accidents (unintentional injuries): 108,694; Diabetes: 72,815; Alzheimer's disease: 65,829; Influenza/Pneumonia: 61,472; Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 42,762; Septicemia: 33,464. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm

Actual Causes of Death in the United States (2000) were seen as, Tobacco (435 000 deaths; 18.1% of total US deaths), poor Diet and Physical Inactivity (400 000 deaths; 16.6%), Alcohol Consumption (85 000 deaths; 3.5%). Other actual causes of death were Microbial Agents (75 000), toxic agents (55 000), Motor Vehicle crashes (43 000), incidents involving Firearms (29 000), Sexual Behaviors (20 000), and illicit use of Drugs (17 000). http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/291/10/1238. American Medical Association

In the summer of 1900, the major causes of death were 1. Pneumonia and influenza; 2. TB; 3. Diarrhea; 4. Heart disease; 5. Stroke. http://www.bitoffun.com/Funfacts.htm

It is estimated that about 500,000 (a half million) Americans have died because of AIDS, and nearly 1 million people in the United States are presently living with HIV/AIDS. Twenty-Five Years of HIV/AIDS --- United States, 1981--2006 www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5521a1.htm. http://www.knowhivaids.org/facts_stats.html;

In 2003-2004, 17.1% of children and adolescents 2-19 years of age (over 12 and a half million) were overweight, and 32.2% of adults (over 66 million) were obese. Almost 5% of adults were extremely obese. http://www.cdc.gov/women/pubs/overwght.htm

Americans are the most overweight people on the planet, with Mexicans, Australians, Greeks, New Zealanders and Britons are not too far behind. U.S. Census Bureau.

American's production of solid waste increased from 3.7 pounds in 1980 to 4.4 pounds in 2006. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract.html

In California about two-thirds of men (63.4%) and almost half of women (45.2%) are overweight or obese. Vainio H, Kaaks R, Bianchini. “Weight control and physical activity in cancer prevention: international evaluation of the evidence.” European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 2002; Supplement 2: S94-S100. ^13.5http://news.ucanr.org/mediakits/Nutrition/nutritionfactsheet.shtml#sources

Childhood obesity has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: United States, 1999-2002. www.cdc.gov. ^^13.5

Fifty percent of overweight children/teens remain overweight as adults. Childhood Overweight, A Fact Sheet for Professionals, University of California, Berkeley, Cooperative Extension, Department of Nutritional Sciences, January 2000. ^^13.5

Children who are ever breast-fed are 15%-25% less likely to become overweight, and those who are breast-fed for 6 months or more are 20%-40% less likely. Preventing Obesity and Chronic Diseases Through Good Nutrition and Physical Activity, Revised August 2003. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ ^^13.5

Household income spent on away-from-home foods rose from 25 percent of total food spending in 1970 to nearly one-half in 1999. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. 2005. Institute of Medicine. www.iom.edu ^^13.5

Sweets, desserts, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages account for nearly 25 percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Salty snacks and fruit-flavored drinks add another five percent. Sodas alone contribute 7.1 percent of total calories eaten. Healthy fruits and vegetables make up only 10 percent of caloric intake in the U.S. diet. Gladys Block, professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at UC Berkeley, June 2004, Journal of Food Chemistry and Analysis. ^^13.5

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, healthier diets could prevent at least $71 billion per year in medical costs, lost productivity, and lost lives. Frazao E. "High Costs of Poor Eating Patterns in he United States." In America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Washington, DC: USDA, 1999. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 750, pp 5-32 ^^13.5

Over 750,000 people in the United States die every year from conventional medicine mistakes. Death by Medicine, by Drs. Gary Null, Carolyn Dean, Martin Feldman, Debora Rasio and Dorothy Smith, 2003. http://www.newstarget.com/009278.html

^^13.5 http://news.ucanr.org/mediakits/Nutrition/nutritionfactsheet.shtml#sources