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Healthy living
Adjustments in exercise programs need to be made for children, pregnant women, the elderly, patients who are obese or disabled, and heart-attack survivors. Programs should also be modified for high altitudes and extreme hot or cold conditions. For more information see physical activity. SMOKING Text Continues Below
Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States, and more than 400,000 Americans die each year from cigarette smoking. One out of every five deaths annually is either directly or indirectly caused by smoking. Secondhand cigarette smoke exposure causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year. Studies have also linked secondhand smoke with heart disease. The serious diseases most frequently caused by smoking are: It is never too late to quit smoking. Two years after stopping, your risk of heart attack returns to average and there your lung cancer risk drops by about a third. After 10 years of not smoking, your risk for lung cancer returns to near normal. See also smoking and smokeless tobacco. ALCOHOL USE Consumption of alcohol gradually depresses brain function. Emotions, thought processes, and judgment are first to be affected by alcohol consumption. With continued drinking, motor control becomes impaired, causing slurred speech, slower reactions, and poor balance. Both increased body fat and drinking on an empty stomach speed the rate of alcohol intoxication. See alcoholism and alcohol use. The diseases most frequently caused by alcoholism are:
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