Over the course of a century, public health officials have shifted their focus from fighting infectious diseases like cholera, polio and tuberculosis to combating cancer, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Now, efforts to fight these diseases are largely concentrated on correcting the unhealthy lifestyles that contribute to such conditions, according to The New York Times.
Perhaps no city's health department has worked so aggressively to change people's health-related behavior and lifestyles as New York City. Under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York health commissioners Thomas R. Frieden, MD, and then Thomas A. Farley, MD, took action to reduce smoking, binge drinking and consumption of sugary drinks, sodium and trans fats in the city.
In his latest book Saving Gotham: Billionaire Mayor, Activist Doctors, and the Fight for Eight Million Lives, Dr. Farley, who served as New York's health commissioner from 2009 to 2014, argues the key to eradicating lifestyle-related diseases is by changing people's environments. Specifically, it is done by making it harder for them to make unhealthy choices — like smoking and drinking sugary sodas — and easier to make good ones — such as exercising and eating healthy food.
In his book, Dr. Farley illustrates the behind-the-scenes process of the Bloomberg administration's approach to fighting chronic, life-threatening diseases.
Dr. Farley later served as the Joan H. Tisch Distinguished Fellow in Public Health at Hunter College in New York City and CEO of the Public Good Projects. He new serves as health commissioner of Philadelphia.
Click here to read The New York Times' Q&A withDr. Farley on Saving Gotham.