In my years at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we have made tremendous progress in our efforts to improve the health, safety, and well-being of the American people. The Department's recent Steps to a HealthierUS initiative aims to help Americans live longer, better, and healthier lives by reducing the burden of diabetes, overweight, obesity, asthma, heart disease and stroke, and cancer and addresses three related factors — physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use. There are many issues that challenge us and demand our best efforts in public health. I commend the staff of Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy on producing a journal that reaches a broad public health audience and presents research in electronic form on the Web, available free to the public. Its interdisciplinary coverage of topics provides a crucial resource to assist the public health community at all levels in solving one of our most challenging health crises.
Footnotes
The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.