Lungs not our favourite organ: survey

For Australian women, it's their brains.
Men say it's their hearts.
A new poll asked participants to nominate their most important organ from a choice
of lungs, liver, heart, stomach, kidneys, pancreas, skin or eyes.
Both sexes rated their lungs a distant fourth and behind another body part that,
while very important, you could still live without.
"The top order was brain, heart, eyes and then lungs which is a little
disappointing," said Professor Norbert Berend, from the Sydney-based Woolcock
Institute of Medical Research.
"People are not as concerned about their lungs ... which are absolutely essential
for life."
Combining the results from men and women, 39 per cent nominated the brain as their
number one organ while 36 per cent said it was the heart.
Fourteen per cent nominated their eyes while just three per cent said it was their
lungs, with the kidney and liver equal in fifth place (two per cent).
Prof Berend said the research showed how the life-sustaining role played by the
lungs often went overlooked, and this translated into fewer people seeing their GP
for a lung complaint and more undiagnosed disease.
In contrast, he said, about 40 per cent of Australians would have their blood
pressure or cholesterol checked, or their eyes tested, this year.
The research also found about a quarter of Australians have had bronchitis (25 per
cent) or asthma (24 per cent) during their lives while 11 per cent reported
pneumonia.
Prof Berend said cases of lung disease would increase with the ageing of the
population, while smoking-related illness was yet to peak in Australia despite a now
declining smoking rate.
Deaths from lung disease were forecast to outnumber those from cancer globally by 2020.
The poll of more than 1200 Australians, aged 18-64, was conducted by Newspoll during
May.
"It's not surprising to see the brain and heart getting all the glory," Prof Berend
also said of the poll results.
"However lungs need to receive equal attention, as they deliver oxygen which ignites
the energy to keep every cell, from head to toe, alive."