Risk factors for death:<br />High income countries
| Rank | Risk Factor | Deaths (millions) | % of total |
| 1 | Tobacco Use | 1.5 | 17.9 |
| 2 | High Blood Pressure | 1.4 | 16.8 |
| 3 | Overweight and Obesity | 0.7 | 8.4 |
| 4 | Physical Inactivity | 0.6 | 7.7 |
| 5 | High Blood Glucose | 0.6 | 7 |
Source: World Health Organization (WHO). (2009). Global health risks: Mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks. Retrieved November 22, 2010 from http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_part2.pdf
This table again illustrates how important behaviors are to our own health. So here you're seeing the risk factors for death among people in high-income countries, of which the United States is one, and you see the top five risk factors: tobacco use, high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, high blood glucose, in that order, 1 through 5, top highest risk factors for death in high-income countries. What do you notice from this list? If you are thinking to yourself "These are all either behaviors or related to behaviors," you're right. So tobacco use is a choice whether we use tobacco or not. High blood pressure; again, this is not a direct link, but high blood pressure is linked to behaviors. Overweight and obesity, again indirectly related to behaviors. Physical inactivity, that's a behavioral choice. High blood glucose, again indirectly related to physical activity and other behaviors that we can make choices about to make a difference in our risk factor for death.