Consortium looks to develop strategic plan

by Krystal Paco

Guam - Non-communicable diseases are the leader in deaths in the Asia-Pacific Region. Public Health Technical Consultant Annette David says it's an epidemic as more and more people are dying from heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lung disease and diabetes.  

While officials look to develop a non-communicable diseases strategic plan for Guam, David says the consortium has identified four risk factors that are common among all the major diseases. "The four factors are tobacco use, alcohol use, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity, so what we need is to put a lot of our efforts into making sure that we have healthy public policies to create an environment on Guam that supports healthy lifestyles," she said. 

 

David adds these diseases literally break the bank, not only taking away from health and productivity, but also from the economy.