This slide represents so clearly the link between death from chronic disease and lifestyle factors. On the left you see the 10 top causes of death in the U. S. in 1990. The top causes have been the same for a long period of time. The bright green bar designates the fact that there is a known lifestyle habit relationship. On the right you see the specific lifestyle factors and estimates of how many deaths they contributed to in the the U.S. in 1990. Notice that habits that get a lot of public attention such as illicit drug use and sexual behavior actually rank lower than the impact of smoking and diet/exercise. There is no clearer way to show that practicing healthy lifestyle behaviors can significantly extend life expectancies.
All of the diseases identified as leading causes of death have significant behavioral risk factors.
The “real” causes of death listing makes these more evident.
Discussion of the awareness the class has of these relationships would be appropriate, as would discussion of the relative importance of various behavioral concerns, such as the relative importance of tobacco use, alcohol use and use of illegal drugs.