2019 has just started, but it may be time to start thinking about the best ways to prevent or treat a chronic disease.

Nearly six out of ten Americans have at least one chronic condition, according to the CDC. This means that every person has a significant risk of developing a chronic condition.

Chronic diseases include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, alcoholism, cancer, and serious heart disease.

Managing a chronic disease can be stressful at first. However, most people can build a prevention routine that is easy to follow. Below we provided a simple list of ways you can easily manage chronic diseases for the upcoming year:

Prevent chronic disease with healthy diet, exercise, and limited drug use

The major reasons that people develop chronic conditions includes poor diet, alcohol consumption, and lack of physical activity. Most chronic diseases including cancer are linked to environmental factors of health such as unhealthy behaviors.

Preventing chronic disease is as simple as exercising at least an hour a day of moderate activity or 30 minutes of accelerated activity like running or cardio exercises. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, and limiting the consumption of junk food, helps to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Avoid habit-building drug use including frequent tobacco use, binge drinking, and other potentially addictive substance use as a means to lower chronic disease prevalence.

It is important to know that while chronic disease prevention is effective, it does not guarantee that you won’t develop a disease. But these prevention tips may help you manage any symptoms or health risks of a chronic disease.

Screen for any chronic diseases throughout the year

Early detection of a chronic disease improves one’s chances of living a normal life with stable symptoms. To detect chronic diseases, a medical provider will conduct a series of screenings during either your annual physical or a separate appointment.

Medical providers at local healthcare facilities, including urgent care centers, can provide these services for patients when they need it.

Screenings measure a patient’s biometric readings to identify if they have a chronic disease such as various forms of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and chronic respiratory disease.

Additionally, your medical provider may recommend certain screenings based on your gender/sex or age. For example, men over the age of 40 are recommended to screen annually for prostate cancer while women the same age are expected to get annual breast cancer screenings.

By taking the time to prevent and screen for diseases, you can greatly reduce the likelihood of developing a serious chronic disease!