Preventing disease, eliminating health disparities and getting the public ready for hazards, whether natural or man-made, are priorities for federal health officials, according to the acting U.S. surgeon general.

Rear Adm. Dr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu was the keynote speaker during Intermountain Healthcare's recent "Healthy Communities" conference.

The American health system "right now is somewhat backward," Moritsugu said. Health care is often delayed until it might be too late, and money spent trying to get well at that point is often wasted, unlike money spent on preventing illness and keeping people well.

Smoking, obesity and inactivity are three common preventable causes of death, he said, with obesity the fastest-growing. "It can lead to serious illness and death. This trickle is on its way to becoming a torrent."

Moritsugu called the growing number of overweight young Americans "one of the most disturbing public health issues," with increased risk of type two diabetes, heart disease and other ills that 20 years ago were not found in the young.

He said 17 percent of children are overweight or obese, and 62 percent of adults fall into that category. More than one-fourth of children spent four or more hours watching TV and playing video games. And one-third of high school students, he said, get no physical activity. Increasingly, schools are reducing or eliminating recess.

Eating healthy foods in healthy portions and being physically active will impact children's lives. But you can't just tell them to do it. You have to model the behavior for them, because they notice that.

It's easy to talk about what should be done, but it's harder for some people to make it happen and that has to be recognized and resolved. He said when he wants fresh vegetables, he drives to the nearby Safeway. A friend of his has an hour-long bus ride to get where there are fresh vegetables, then the return trip carrying the packages. How many times a week am I supposed to do that? she asked him once.

Preparedness efforts must go beyond stockpiling medicines to building an infrastructure that can function, he said. And preparedness lessons can be applied to any emergency, so even if avian flu, for example, doesn't turn into anything, preparedness efforts will be useful for other things.

One of the issues most frustrating to health officials are health disparities, whether because of age or race or background. For instance, overall child immunization rates are high and cancer deaths are falling, as are Sudden Infant Death Syndrome deaths and others. But it's a "cup half full," he said, because minorities are not seeing the same success story in all areas. There are serious disparities with diabetes, heart disease and stroke, HIV/AIDS and cancer, among others. One in four minority children haven't had at least one of the vaccines they need. Not everyone has equal ability to access, understand and use health information to make good health choices. And for some, even simple things are a struggle.