Prevention Matters

The summary of the latest data from the CDC's National Health Interview Survey could have been written by Charles Dickens - "it was the best of times and it was the worst of times."

In the first six months of 2009, the number of people working out was up by 4 percent over the same period in 2008. That six-month period also saw the highest portion of Americans getting seasonal flu vaccines, being tested for HIV, and quitting smoking since the data started being collected in 1997.

At the same time, however, more Americans than ever reported being obese, having Type 2 diabetes, asthma, or drinking too much. A record 7.2 percent of people in the U.S. "failed to obtain needed medical care" during that period, and the rate of uninsured people inched up to 15.1 percent. Meanwhile, U.S. spending on health care nearly doubled from $1.13 trillion in 1997 to an estimated $2.3 trillion in 2008.