title: Rigorous science as the road to better public health.
abstract: In the current issue of Population Health Metrics, two reports paint a bleak picture of American public health. Both physical inactivity and obesity remain highly prevalent; yet, it is not clear that increased physical activity will reduce the burden of obesity. There continue to be widespread disparities in life expectancy across United States counties. These reports appear against a backdrop of debate regarding how we should allocate our scarce resources for improving health: should we focus more on improving access to high-quality medical care, or should we instead focus on more and better public health interventions? While optimal solutions remain obscure, a look at prior successes suggests that ultimately they will come from the conduct and implementation of rigorous science, and in particular event-driven trials.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 8128, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. lauerm@nhlbi.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lauer