THOMAS R. FRIEDEN

Unhealthy food has gotten a whole lot cheaper and healthy food has gotten a whole lot more expensive… We have to make healthy food cheaper and unhealthy food more expensive, but we are not ready to go there yet.

Our health care system is terribly broken… Health comes from much more than health care and health care is much more than hospitals. We do a good job on treatment and a terrible job on prevention.

Diabetes and obesity together are the worst disease facing the country and its getting worse

When you show people good information, they make good decisions.

While some people exaggerate it, there is no doubt about it that second hand smoke kills

When anyone dies from a preventable disease in New York City, it’s my fault.

People traveling to malaria-prone areas can protect themselves by taking steps such as taking antimalarial drugs, using insect repellent, sleeping under insecticide-treated bed-nets, and wearing protective clothing.

In addition to pain, disability, and disfigurement, lymphatic filariasis carries a heavy social cost. Those disfigured by the disease are often shunned. Women are often rejected by their families. Both men and women can have difficulty finding jobs.

I eat a lot of fruit because if I fill up on strawberries or an apple, then I'll have one small piece of cheesecake rather than two big pieces.

Physical activity - even if you don't lose an ounce, you'll live longer, feel healthier and be less likely to get cancer, heart disease, stroke and arthritis. It's the closest thing we have to a wonder drug.

The bottom line is that Ebola is hard to treat, and when the first patient ever with Ebola came to the United States, we thought the guidelines would protect the health care workers.

A vaccine that prevented tuberculosis would merit a Nobel Prize, but it's just very difficult to develop.

Women should use pain medication only as directed and talk with their doctor about all drugs they're taking, including over-the-counter medications. Store prescription drugs in a secure place and properly dispose of them as soon as treatment is over. And never share prescription drugs with anyone else.

The way Zika spreads is primarily through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito in places that don't have screens and air-conditioning.

The United States has made remarkable progress in reducing both teen pregnancy and racial and ethnic differences, but the reality is, too many American teens are still having babies.

We want people to take responsibility for how healthy they are, and we want to help them live longer, healthier lives.

As director of the CDC, one of the best parts of my job is announcing good news.

Between 2000 and 2010, malaria mortality rates fell by 26 percent around the world. According to the latest World Health Organization estimates, there were about 219 million cases of malaria in 2010 and an estimated 660,000 deaths.

The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States has caused some to call on the United States to ban travel for anyone from the countries in West Africa facing the worst of the Ebola epidemic. That response is understandable. It's only human to want to protect ourselves and our families.

Vaccination is the single most important step people can take to protect themselves from influenza.

Reducing MRSA infections is critical because these bacteria are difficult to treat and are common in healthcare settings, especially among ICU (intensive care unit) patients.

Some hospitals screen all ICU patients and isolate those with MRSA, a process that can be challenging for both caregivers and patients.

Know that the tiger mosquito - Aedes albopictus - sometimes spreads viruses that spread like Zika, so it may be able to spread Zika.

From all the available evidence, the body has an excellent immune response to Zika. Therefore, once you get it once, you will never get it again.

MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is an important cause of healthcare-associated infections.