20 Amazing Infographics for Health Conscious People

Not too long ago, Mashable offered a look at 5 great health infographics. These infographics offer some insight into the state of health in our economy, as well as offering some perspective on different health issues. With all the recent focus on health care reform, and with many looking for ways to increase their health, it is little surprise that these infographics are in demand.

You don’t have to be a nurse or some other health care professional to know that our society, as a whole, needs better health. If you are interested in leading a healthier life, you can get some interesting information with these 20 infographics on different aspects of health.

Food and Drink

Obviously, what we eat and drink represent some of the biggest obstacles to healthy life. What we put in our bodies can improve health — or hurt it. In some cases, it may not even make a difference. Here are some infographics describing what some health care research has found about different food and drink.

Dietary Supplements: We think of vitamins and dietary supplements as ways to help us get proper nutrition and maintain health, without having to eat foods we don’t want to. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. In many instances, taking dietary supplements just may not be worth it. This interactive infographic from Information is Beautiful offers the scientific evidence for different dietary and health supplements.
Tap Water: Where do you live? It may make a difference in whether or not you should be drinking tap water. Get a look at the contaminants is 10 major cities’ water systems. And get a strong dose of reality: Not everything that ends up in tap water is regulated. This inforgraphic from GOOD can be a real eye opener for those who are trying to figure out how to save money (and the planet) by drinking tap water.
Bottled Water: But if your tap water is dirty, does that mean bottled water is the answer? Perhaps not. Not only is it more expensive, but some bottled water has contaminants as well — especially the from the plastics used to make the bottles. Online Education has an infographic that lays out the facts of bottled water, including what’s really in it, and how much room bottles take up in landfills. Bottled water isn’t that great, plus it’s expensive and bad for the environment. Maybe it’s time for tap water after all. Provided it is properly filtered.
Price of Junk Food: One of the several reasons that millions of Americans are suffering from obesity and other health problems may be due to the fact that it is much less expensive to buy junk food than to buy healthier options. Indeed, this simple, yet stunning, infographic from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the inflation adjusted prices of different foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables have seen a rise in prices, while soda has dropped dramatically. Indeed, fruits and vegetables cost more than anything else.
Soda: Millions of Americans get a significant amount of their sugar and calories from soda. Soda is one of the biggest sources of health problems we have. This infographic seen on Shatter Limits offers a look at the basic stats on soda. It also includes information on how drinking soda can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, obesity, gout and metabolic syndrome. So put down that soda and reach for some water instead.
Calories per Dollar: For an interesting look at fast food and caloric intake, this infographic on Top Cultured (via thebigmoney.com) presents the calories per dollar that might shock you. Look at the calorie counts in popular items of fast food, and then see how many calories are packed into each dollar that you spend on fast food. If you are counting calories — or just looking for ways to increase the amount of healthy foods in your diet, this infographic can be quite enlightening.
Shop Local: Interested in finding local and/or organic produce? It’s possible with this handy organic produce shopping guide. GOOD offers an infographic describing what is available in different states, at different times of the year. While you may not get something exactly local, you can find places where organic produce is relatively close to you, and so you can increase the chances that your food has not traveled that far to get to you.

Health and Disease

Get a crash course in what’s going on with health trends and with disease. You might be surprised about what you discover about health and disease from these inforgraphics.

American Obesity: Because obesity carries with it so many other related health problems, it is widely considered to be the health threat of our time. In fact, even the First Lady, Michelle Obama, has started a campaign designed to help draw attention to obesity in children. Obesity has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other ailments. You can learn about obesity by state, as well as what obesity costs. This colorful and interesting infographic from Weight Loss Diet Watch provides eye popping insight.
Healthy Behavior: How does your state stack up in health behavior? Gallup offers a look at health behaviors by state. This report is based on number of people smoking, eating healthy, and exercising. The healthiest state is Vermont, followed by Hawaii. The least healthy state is Kentucky, followed by Arkansas. Indeed, the South has a number of states in the top ten unhealthy states. It’s an interesting look at some of the behaviors in the U.S. — and it could provide some helpful insight into your own state’s healthy behaviors.
Mental Health: Get an idea of how healthy your state is in terms of the mental side. Find out which states have higher amounts of psychiatric in-patient and residential treatment beds out of every 100,000 people. It’s an interesting map that may shed some light on where you might have a better chance of finding mental health support if you should need it. It’s an interesting look at how the states in the U.S. stack up in terms of mental health.
Disease Fatalies: This is an absolutely fascinating infographic from Information is Beautiful detailing how likely you are to die from different diseases. It is a simple, yet informative look at the fatality rates of diseases you are probably familiar with. It’s no surprise that untreated AIDS is the disease most likely to result in fatalities. And, given the hysteria over swine flu, you might be surprised to learn that only a small percentage of people die from the disease.
Cost of Drugs: Learn about how prescription medications increase in cost over the years. Prices go up, and can get expensive. This infographic from USA Today illustrates the increasing prices of drugs. Of course, if you live a healthy life, you have less of a chance of needing prescription drugs to manage your conditions. Indeed, it is even possible to keep diabetes at bay and reduce your chances of heart attack when you eat healthy and exercise.
World Health: Interested in how the U.S. really stacks up in terms of health and health care? You can see with this infographic from GOOD and from Way Shape Form. The infographic puts, in very easy to read format, the average life expectancy in different countries, as well as how much those countries spend on health care. The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy of any developed country, but spends more than any on health care. Also includes infant mortality stats, and other interesting information about the state of health in difference countries around the world. An interesting look at where different countries stand in terms of health care.
Health Care Reform: Health care reform has been a topic of interest, and a bill just passed Congress and was signed into law. Are you interested in how the latest bout of health care reform will affect you? If you are interested in learning about your options and costs with the latest health care reform bill going into effect, you can use this infographic from the Center for American Progress to easily see how it will work for you, whether you have insurance now, or whether you will need to get in the future.

Habits and Health Practices

Is what you are doing affecting your health? Learn how what you do can have very real impacts on your long-term health.

Smoking: How does smoking affect you? Get a look at the essential facts on smoking from this infographic that breaks down the basics, from how many people smoke, to how many deaths each year are attributed to smoking related causes. Also looks at secondhand smoke and the difficulties many encounter when trying to quit. A great, comprehensive look at this legal, but dangerous activity that many are still engaged in.
Death and Drugs: Your habit may not be as deadly as you think. This infographic from Information is Beautiful offers a look at media coverage of different drugs, as compared to how deadly they are. Even though alcohol is more deadly than cannabis (pot), it is covered much less in the media. This is an interesting look at the hysteria over some drugs — and a bit of a commentary on what we accept in society.
Price of Inebriation: Interested in how much it costs to get inebriated? This infographic allows you to interactively see how much inebriation you can get per milliliter of alcohol, depending on the product and the proof. An interesting way to see how much “value” you are getting out of your alcoholic drinks. You can change the look of the infographic, tailoring it to fit your needs, allowing you to read the information in a way that makes the most sense to you. Find out how cost-efficient your alcohol habit actually is, and consider changes you might want to make.
Burn Calories: Interested in knowing how hard you need to work out in order to burn off different popular foods? This clever infographic from a guy at 5W Infographics illustrates different activities, and how many calories they burn. It also represents how many calories are in different foods. It’s a very interesting look at exercise and eating. Maybe if we really knew how much exercise we would have to do in order to burn off the calories from our food, we would eat less junk and pay more attention to healthier options that require less work to burn off.
Brain Fitness: How fit is your brain? The things we do now can affect how health our brains our in the future. If you are interested in seeing what is being done in terms of brain fitness and information, this infographic at SharpBrains can be enlightening. It offers a look at different opportunities to increase brain fitness, as well as who is taking action to increase brain fitness. It’s an interesting look at neurosoftware products and other brain fitness issues.
Impact of Cars: Your driving habits (and the habits of others) can have an impact on health. Indeed, in sensationalized reports of things that cause death and injury, cars are often overlooked. However, this infographic from Infrastructurist puts into perspective the fact that cars cause millions of deaths every year, and tens of millions of injuries. It also looks at deaths and injuries according to the wealth of the country. And that doesn’t even include the incidence of sickness and death related to the pollution that cars produce.