You may recall learning earlier in the course that the 10 leading causes of death in the United States have changed considerably since the 20th century. Many of the risk factors associated with the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in adults in the U. S. currently are associated with health behavior and lifestyle choices. Community health workers must understand the health profile and common lifestyle and behavioral patterns of specific age groups in order to develop and offer effective primary, secondary and tertiary intervention programs and strategies. However, getting people to change their behavior can be a “hard sell”.

1. Choose a specific age group as identified in this week’s readings – Adolescent, young adult, or adult
2. Go to this website to view the current facts on the 10 Leading Causes of Death in the U. S. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm (opens in new tab)
3. Choose 2 causes from the Leading Causes of Death list that can be considered diseases of lifestyle
4. In a paper of 500-600 words, discuss the lifestyle factors in your chosen age group that may be associated with the two causes of death you chose.
5. In your summary/closing of the paper, comment on why you think diseases of lifestyle are so difficult to prevent. In other words, why do the causes of death associated with diseases of lifestyle persistently rank so highly in the U. S.?