With the presidential debates gearing up again, we have been sure to hear more about medical care. But we propose a somewhat different question. In addition to requesting how we can get more individual healthcare coverage, we should additionally ask why so many people tend to be sick in the first place.
The words associated with John Kennedy might these days be, “Ask not the particular health care system can do for you. Ask what you can do to reduce the care burden”. But before sampling what we can do, let’s look at some realities the typical next president could confront in their first ‘State of the Union address.
On the downside –
* We are not healthy: 60 percent of adults and <20% of kids are overweight; a third of today’s kids are generally anticipated to become diabetic; <20% of high school kids get early heart disease. The estimated economic burden of depression symptoms for 2000 (most recent estimate) was $83. 1 billion, and this is one of many brain-related diseases
* We are aging: within the following decades, about 20% of the population will be in retirement; 4. 5 million individuals already have Alzheimer’s disease through 2050, and there will be 16 mil cases.
* We are intensely medicated: anti-depressants are the top-selling drugs in the United States; document numbers of children are on these anti-psychotics; for grown-ups, cholesterol and blood pressure medications are becoming as expected breakfast cereal.
On the benefit –
* The US government estimates that healthier lifestyles might save $71 billion yearly in health care costs and another $14 billion in lost productivity.
* just one out of 7 deaths usually are premature and could be avoided by having better diets and dynamic lifestyles.
Perhaps the next director should spend a little energy promoting methods to improve this kind of statistics. But how?
Most of us think of heart disease, diabetes, depression, and Alzheimer’s dementia as very different problems. Even so, the more we learn about sickness, the more we realize that these seemingly different diseases frequently have a lot in common at the cell and molecular levels. They likewise have a lot in common regarding that they gained a foothold inside your brain and body to begin within the first place.
However, we have an incredible arsenal of tools to help reduce common cellular injuries and maintain fit brains and bodies. What is that equipment? Some high-tech drugs and medical equipment are unrealistic for many of the population without health care insurance. Actually, no. This tool is very low-tech in addition to being available to everyone. They are:
1. Eating a quality diet
2. payments Getting regular physical activity
3. Keeping your mind active in addition to engaged
4. Getting ample sleep and rest
Looks easy, right? So why have a tendency to all do it, and why didn’t we have all of these difficulties 50 and 100 years before?
First of all, in yesteryear, any breakfast muffin contained 150 calories. Today that will muffin is 400 unhealthy calories. A large drink at the soft drinks fountain totaled 12 oz .. Today, that drink will be the smallest size on most choices. Yes, we are suffering from portion distortion. We love to eat, and it also ain’t peas and pumpkin. We are a cravin’.
Secondly, for many people going to work meant going to work in physical form. Today, the extent of your office exercise is finger workouts on our QWERTY keyboards. The workout was a regular part of everyday activities, not a chore you have to program into your day.
Third, seeing that Alvaro pointed out on a new Sharp Brains blog, most people ‘outsource our brains’ with zero longer thinking for themselves. We should ask how well we could function without mass media messages, GPS DEVICE systems, calculators, spell pieces, and electronic organizers. I know I am guilty of that one, myself.
Finally, we are keeping up later and getting way earlier to meet those deadlines. On average, we get 1 . 5 hours fewer zzzzzs compared to what we did about a hundred years ago. Not only that, but we commit far more time to busy, stressful, and busyness when awake than we ever used to.
Currently, change is happening. We should never expect to always do stuff the way we used to, in addition to not suggesting this. Food, in all its irresistible options, is much more available. Are most of us supposed just not to eat the item? Well, it would not hurt to pass on the next helping of triple dark chocolate cheesecake now and then.
And no, we can’t jog around the office, but we can carry out simple things to introduce a lot more activity into our daytime. Walk instead of driving these 1-mile errands. Park farther from the door, take the stairs… you have heard all this before. Exactly why don’t we do it?
One of the reasons for this is that no one likes to find out what to do and is subjected to many guilt trips; most people just simply don’t respond to that. In addition, most people haven’t pondered what they want their wellness to look like or created a reasonable plan to reach their own health goals. The old proverb says, “If you don’t understand where you are going, you are sure to obtain there” plus, it helps to possess a map. Finally, even with plans, many folks will give up following your first sign of inability or fatigue. These alterations don’t become accessible until we eventually make them an integral part of our lives.
So how do you motivate people to act to maintain their health? Considering that everyone is different, many options occur. The obvious answer that will stimulate the most people is dollars, money, money… money (did you hear ‘The Apprentice’ design song).
At a policy level, it would be beneficial if the next president worked to incentivize a healthy way of life and behaviors. Now, I realize this is easy to say, not as easy to do (and preserve everyone happy), but you ought to walk before you run.
Suppose the next presidential administration indeed incentivized (is that a term yet? ) us to consider better care of ourselves? What if health insurance companies offer discounts to people trying to live a healthy lifestyle? What if the federal government gave us tax breaks to consume healthier food and exercise? Imagine if each individual had one federal government subsidized continuing education or self-enrichment class each year. Would this reduce employers’ overall health care problem and make this more affordable to cover more individuals? Does it help reduce sick days as well as increase productivity and creativity? Hmmm…
We realize there are many caveats to implementing this type of plan, but something needs to be done, and maybe some vibrant politician can figure out how to get it done. Who would lose if the state were to improve its health?
Insurance agencies wouldn’t have to fork out all the. Medical providers would be able to focus more on protecting against disease instead of managing severe illness. The government wouldn’t have such a hot seat to the health care crisis. Big Pharma might sell fewer drug treatments, but there are several new health-related industries that they have the competence to tap into. We may all win.
So back to our initial question: “Why are we so sick and tired in the first place? ” If you step back and see the forest to the trees, our world has changed substantially in the last 50 to century. With technology and its availability, we may be a little complacent, a little too having faith that the magic cure-all supplement is there for us.
It is correct that we are living longer. However, I’m sure with increased longevity, everybody would want at least a reasonable standard of living, and currently, that isn’t all this nonsense. So the answer to our issue seems to be…. lifestyle choices. Making the most significant lifestyle choices, and maintaining all of them, isn’t always easy; however the best things in life seldom are.
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