HHS officials released their end-of-decade assessment of progress made toward the Health People 2010 goals. If you’re not familiar with Healthy People, see here.

This public health program aims to identify the nation’s health improvement priorities, and provide measurable objectives and engage multiple sectors and stakeholders toward achieving these priorities. It’s redone every 10 years as a set of public health goals for the coming decade.

The final review was positive in many ways. Americans are living longer. Fewer are dying from cancers, including breast, colon, and prostate. And we continue to make progress in the fight against tobacco.

One area that seems futile to many is the obesity epidemic. But as I’ve written previously, and as I discussed in an article published on WebMD today (and pasted below), I believe we’ve actually taken many important steps forward that set the stage for a productive decade ahead.