National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

At A Glance 2016

Chronic diseases are common, costly, and debilitating, and they can often be prevented. By choosing healthy behaviors—like avoiding tobacco, eating and drinking healthy foods and beverages, and getting regular physical activity and enough sleep—people can reduce their chance of getting a chronic disease or improve their health and quality of life if they already have a chronic disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works to prevent chronic diseases and reduce their health and financial costs with an approach that brings together monitoring to understand the problems, communities to work toward solutions and support healthy behaviors, and health care systems to detect problems early and help reduce or eliminate unhealthy behaviors.

Public Health Problem

Chronic diseases—such as heart disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases, stroke, and type 2 diabetes—account for most deaths in the United States and globally. They are the major causes of sickness, disability, and health care costs in the nation. Chronic diseases are responsible for 7 in 10 deaths among Americans each year, and the vast majority of health care costs.

CDC’s Response

CDC leads US efforts to prevent and control chronic diseases and their risk factors through the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). Using four approaches, the center works with partners to strengthen health for states, tribes, localities, and territories:

• Tracking chronic diseases and risk factors through surveys and research.
• Improving environments to make it easier for people to make healthy choices.
• Strengthening health care systems to deliver prevention services that keep people well and diagnose diseases early.
• Connecting clinical services to community programs that help people prevent and manage their chronic diseases and conditions.

See The Four Domains of Chronic Disease Prevention [PDF – 965 KB] for more information.

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Fiscal Year 2016 Budget

NCCDPHP’s FY 2016 budget is $1.17 billion, including $339 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Affordable Care Act. Budget highlights include the following:

• Diabetes: $170 million to support diabetes prevention and control action. These investments help state, tribal, local, and territorial partners address primary prevention for people with prediabetes, such as through interventions that help people eat healthy foods and be more physically active.
• Heart Disease and Stroke: $160 million to continue to help states, tribes, localities and territories use heart disease and stroke prevention strategies that promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors, healthy environments and communities, and access to early and affordable detection and treatment.
• Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH): $50.9 million to continue promoting effective, sustainable approaches to reducing health disparities. Activities include improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, reducing tobacco use, and expanding access to healthier environments and quality preventive services in health care and community settings.
• Tobacco Prevention and Control: $210 million, which continues the Tips From Former Smokers national education campaign and supports the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP). Tips raises awareness about the health effects of tobacco use and encourages smokers to quit. NTCP funds all state health departments for tobacco use prevention and control action.

See more CDC budget information.

NCCDPHP Programs

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Heart Disease and Stroke
• Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity
• Oral Health
• Preventing Chronic Disease E-Journal
• Population Health
• Reproductive Health
• Smoking and Tobacco Use
• Tribal Resources

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion website

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