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(AFP/File/Frederick Florin)
The number of heart disease fatalities in the United States could be halved if "one smoker in two in the United States stopped smoking", taking the proportion of smokers down from 25 percent to 12 percent of the population, WHO official Laragh Gollogly told AFP.
The study also showed the positive effect measures aimed at changing people's behaviour have on cardiovascular health, Gollogly said.
"By avoiding tobacco, eating a healthy diet and engaging in regular physical activity, people can dramatically reduce their risk of developing heart disease, stroke or diabetes," Shanthi Mendis, co-ordinator of Chronic Diseases' Prevention and Management at the WHO, said.
Changing people's behaviour was a major challenge for public health bodies, Gollogly said.
The report, co-authored by Simon Capewell, from the University of Liverpool in northwest Britain, said lifestyle is a major factor determining the health of many of the world's people.
Almost a billion adults are overweight around the world, the report said, and if no action is taken the number will pass 1.5 billion by 2015.
Cardiovascular health has improved significantly since the 1970s due to reductions in cholesterol, smoking and increased physical activity, the report said, but the rise of obesity has stalled these achievements, the study found.
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The study also showed the positive effect measures aimed at changing people's behaviour have on cardiovascular health, Gollogly said.
"By avoiding tobacco, eating a healthy diet and engaging in regular physical activity, people can dramatically reduce their risk of developing heart disease, stroke or diabetes," Shanthi Mendis, co-ordinator of Chronic Diseases' Prevention and Management at the WHO, said.
Changing people's behaviour was a major challenge for public health bodies, Gollogly said.
The report, co-authored by Simon Capewell, from the University of Liverpool in northwest Britain, said lifestyle is a major factor determining the health of many of the world's people.
Almost a billion adults are overweight around the world, the report said, and if no action is taken the number will pass 1.5 billion by 2015.
Cardiovascular health has improved significantly since the 1970s due to reductions in cholesterol, smoking and increased physical activity, the report said, but the rise of obesity has stalled these achievements, the study found.
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