It is hard to comprehend, but as of January 2026, Lukert Chiropractic & Wellness has been in practice for 20 years! We are so thankful for the opportunity to humbly serve our community and for the opportunity to share our passion of educating and encouraging as many people as possible to be healthier through Christ, chiropractic and a wellness lifestyle! As a way to commemorate 20 years, we thought this would be an appropriate time to discuss some of the most significant current health trends to see how they compare to 2006, and see what has changed in the last two decades.

This will be a four-part series throughout the year highlighting some of these trends and changes. The entire series will center on different aspects of the four most significant health conditions affecting our country today: cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.  The goal is to educate and encourage better awareness, better action steps, and ultimately, better health.

The purpose of part one is to provide an overview of the current prevalence and economic impact of each of these conditions compared to 20 years ago. These numbers represent the percentage of Americans that are affected, and are based on research provided by the American Cancer Society, the Center for Disease Control, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Institute of Health.

As you can see, the period between 2006-2026 is marked by a clear, sustained, and accelerated increase in the combined burden of these health conditions. Their impact on our health and economics is staggering. Obesity alone accounts for $1.4 trillion… That is insane! This condition is equally disturbing and exciting. It is disturbing because although the prevalence of obesity is roughly 42 percent, the actual number of Americans that are overweight is 75 percent! This means the vast majority of us fall into this category. The exciting part about obesity is that it is treatable and we can do something about it!

This starts by acknowledging that we have a problem and then deciding to make some changes to fix it. Looking at that chart above, “the numbers don’t lie,” as they say. Besides accounting for almost half of the total financial burden by itself, obesity is the main root cause and primary risk factor for all the other health conditions listed. If we get obesity under control (which we can do), the other conditions will follow suit and dramatically improve as well.

Diabetes, for example, just hit an all-time high at 14 percent, but its major health trend is that it is correlated with the rise in obesity rates. Heart Disease was the number one cause of death in both 2006 and 2026, but the number one contributor to heart disease is obesity. Cancer cases have increased 43 percent, but obesity-related cancer cases have increased 150 percent in the last 20 years.

Hopefully by having better awareness of this global epidemic, it will encourage us to take ownership of our bodies, and motivate us to restore health. This will be discussed in part two. Next to our relationships with Christ and our families, nothing is more valuable than our health… We can do this!

This column is paid for by Lukert Chiropractic.