Educating people about these subjects would have a huge impact on lowering death rates for lifestyle-related diseases, said Frist, who is a medical doctor. Other medical professionals said poverty and lack of education combine to sustain the problem of poor health habits. Poverty and lack of education can lead to self-destructive behavior. And both can cause people to feel powerless and too intimidated to seek help. We're killing ourselves Overeating is one of the biggest problems.
Obesity contributes to diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke.
Yet people are packing on the pounds like never before. More than half of adults in Tennessee are overweight, according to the National Institutes of Health. There's a perception among some people that healthy foods are more expensive, say West Tennessee doctors. But that's often just an excuse. People like the convenience of fast food and frozen dinners and don't like to put time or effort into planning nutritious meals, health professionals say.