Preventing Chronic Disease: Comparing major policy and environmental interventnions for alcohol, tobacco and other risk factors

For the past century the life expectancy has been increasing in the United States. Despite the desirability of an increased life span, a longer lifespan can come with an increased total prevalence of chronic diseases associated with the risk factors including smoking, alcohol, and obesity such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and hypertension. This session will present an overview of the literature and data of risk factors which influence the development of chronic diseases and will summarize the challenges and opportunities to translate the lessons across the areas of tobacco use, high-risk alcohol consumption, healthy eating, weight management and active living. The first presenter will examine the progress towards the 2010 national morbidity and mortality targets for major chronic conditions within the context of smoking, nutrition and overweight, physical activity, and excessive alcohol consumption. The second presenter will described the lessons learned from Ontario Canada's control initiatives to promote healthy eating, weight management, active living and reducing high-risk alcohol consumption. The third presenter will document the evidence base for using economic approaches for reducing obesity and related risk factors by drawing on the experience of tobacco and alcohol. The last presenter will review how policy and environmental strategies have been successfully used to reduce/prevent tobacco use; the types of policy and environmental strategies now being employed by state, localities and school districts to reduce/prevent obesity; and how obesity poses additional challenges from a policy/environmental perspective.