NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk for medical advice. This talk only represents the speaker's personal views and understanding of diet, lifestyle and health. We've flagged this talk because it falls outside the content guidelines TED gives TEDx organizers. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdfEveryone knows somebody with a health issue. In this engaging talk, Emily Willen explores the transformative power of lifestyle changes in managing chronic illness. Drawing from personal experience and scientific research, she demonstrates how adjustments in nutrition, physical activity, and overall lifestyle changes can significantly improve health outcomes. Emily also delves into the broader systemic issues impacting public health, such as food insecurity, lack of access to quality healthcare, and socioeconomic disparities in America. She argues that individual lifestyle choices are not always enough by highlighting the complex factors that shape health outcomes—and calls for greater focus on advocacy, community-based solutions, policy changes, and education to address the national health crisis. With practical steps for individuals and communities, this talk offers a hopeful vision of how we can collectively improve our health for ourselves, our families, and our society. Emily Willen majored in Anthropology, with a focus in medical and biological anthropology, and Dietetics, Food, and Nutrition for her undergraduate degree. Her thesis focused on diet, pathogen trends, and origin of disease by studying the morphology of skeletal system from the paleolithic to modern era. She is currently a Masters Health Education and Promotion student at CUNY Lehman College. Emily studied culture and health abroad, including Sustainable Strategies at Korea University and Japanese Culture at Sugiyama University. After surviving her own health challenges, her passion is to dedicate her life to public health in helping others overcome barriers. She’s taken leadership workshops through the Lehman Leadership Development Center, which she now coordinates programs for, and with the CUNY Malave Leadership Academy. Through advocacy, she became a board member of Lehman’s Food Security and Sustainability Initiative Program and a facilitator of the Food Justice Leadership Program. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx