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Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, said that "the good news is life expectancy has gone up, some disparities have narrowed and some key measures of the quality of the nation's health care -- such as infant mortality -- have improved. Utilization of clinical services, including clinical preventive services, has also improved somewhat over time."

The bad news includes persistent neglect of the power of lifestyle as medicine, he said.

"The greatest opportunity to enhance medical destiny resides in the realm of lifestyle behaviors -- tobacco avoidance, healthful eating, routine physical activity," Katz said.

Another sobering element is the association between less education and poorer health outcomes, Katz added. "Financial impediments to a quality education may translate into health care costs down the line. The report invites the nation to reflect on the risks of a 'penny wise, pound foolish' approach to education and health alike," he said.

Compared to many other countries, the United States spends more on health care and "has less health to show for it," Katz said.

Many experts have warned dieters against using drugs or supplements that target hormones; however, recently, one notable doctor gained attention by publicizing his concerns on Oprah Winfrey’s website. In a Q&A piece, David L. Katz, MD told fans of the show that he is firmly against the use of HCG injections for weight loss.

According to Katz, no study has demonstrated that the hormone has any effect on fat loss. What’s more, he warns that, because human chorionic gonadotropin stimulates the ovaries, it has the potential to cause hormonal imbalances in females, which could lead to the development of ovarian cysts.

Samantha Heller, a dietitian, nutritionist, exercise physiologist and clinical nutrition coordinator of the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital, in Derby, Conn., said that "we have evidence to suggest that physical activity not only improves survival of people living with cancer, but it also decreases the risk of many other chronic diseases."

"Conversely, physical inactivity has been associated with many cancers including breast, colon, prostate, pancreas and melanoma," she said.

Because of certain chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments for cancer, survivors may be at an increased risk of additional cancers and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Heller said.

"Therefore, a healthy lifestyle including regular exercise and a healthy diet is essential for survivors to reduce the risk of cancer recurrences and other diseases," she said.

Regular physical activity also improves sleep, psychological and emotional well-being and helps manage stress, Heller said.

"The number of cancer survivors is, happily, growing in the U.S.," she said. "We need to get the word out to them that exercise, whether it is walking, dancing, running, swimming or hula hooping, will boost their health, fitness level and quality of life."

As for whether people actually eat these items, Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, has no doubt. "I think this is a kind of bravado," Katz said, comparing munching on these items to smoking despite the countless health risks.

But Katz said the bravado leads to unhealthy results.

"We don't need to be on a `see food diet,' where we see food and eat it," he said. "People need to love food that loves them back. Some of the best-tasting food on the planet is the food that's the best for you."

"Tobacco we can get rid of entirely. We don't need it. It has no intrinsic value. But we have to eat to live and make terms with food as the enemy," said David Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center.

That makes curbing childhood obesity a much more complicated issue than tobacco use, Katz and other experts agree. The message to kids and their families can't be "stop, don't do this," which is clear and easy to understand. Instead it has to be "make good choices, do this in moderation, set boundaries," a message that is considerably more difficult to convey.

“Bacteria convert sugar to acid, and it’s the acid bath that damages enamel, not the sugar directly,” said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Center. “So by incorporating a high acid load in a drink, we are just cutting out the middleman on the way to tooth decay.”

These drinks are glorified sodas, with as much or more sugar, said Katz.

A book may be just the thing to encourage healthy habits, Katz said.

“Adults are too willing to turn a blind eye to the way our animal-based diets are achieved,” said Katz. “The torture and maltreatment of animals are real, whether or not we acknowledge them. Adults can make the conscious choice not to look there, to help protect a lifetime of dietary preferences. Kids are more malleable and impressionable. Maybe childhood is the best time to create awareness and change behavior accordingly.”

Which is worse, Katz asked? “Telling kids about what’s going on? Or raising them in a world where it is going on and keeping them in the dark about it so they become complicit to it?”