An overwhelming body of scientific evidence indicates that daily lifestyle-related choices and practices contribute in major ways to health, the incidence of chronic diseases, and the perception of quality of life. The current epidemic of inactivity, poor nutritional choices, overweight and obesity, and smoking is the underlying cause of most chronic disease in the developed nations of the world and increasingly in the developing nations.

Nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than in cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. Approximately 37% of U.S. adults have some form of CVD; approximately 1 in 2.8 currently dies of heart disease. The lifetime risk of having CVD at age 40 is 2 in 3 for men and more ...