Reconsidering The Virtue Of Preventative Healthcare
More than four billion drug prescriptions are written annually in the United States. Middle-aged women wolf down Zoloft antidepressants. 15-year old juvenile offenders are force-fed potent anti-psychotics. Menopause, ADHD, obesity – you name it, there’s a pill for it.
More than two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. Women are statistically worse off than men. Hispanics are statistically worse off than Caucasians, while African-Americans and Native Americans are worse off still. One-third of children are overweight, the unsung victims of a soda-chugging, video-gaming nation.
But perhaps Big Pharma is not to blame — at least not exclusively. Modern technology, such as childhood vaccinations and senior palliative care, has drastically improved quality of life. The problem is that not enough emphasis is placed on the value of preventative healthcare. Perhaps the best healthcare is that which is never needed.
The Case for Preventive Healthcare
Three salient statistics make the case for the “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” healthcare:
- The average annual family health insurance costs $16,000.
- A study conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found that obesity is responsible for 18 percent of all deaths among African-American and Caucasian Americans ages 40-85.
- In a 2014 Gallup poll, obese respondents were more likely than normal people to be stressed, worried, sad, angry, and diagnosed with depression.
The Simple Solution: Diet and Exercise
It is a phrase drummed into the national consciousness: diet and exercise. Everyone knows to exercise 2-3 hours a week, quit smoking and eat oodles of broccoli. Keep your BMI under 25, walk to the mailbox and limit the video gaming. But when it comes to questions of diet and nutrition, not everyone agrees wholeheartedly.
Quarrels in the Ivory Tower
In 1972, Dr. Richard Atkins published about his low-carbohydrate high-protein Atkin’s Diet.
In 2005, Professor T. Colin Campbell suggested only vegetarianism could reduce obesity.
In 2012, Dr. John McDougall argued that humans ought to eschew animal protein and consume starches.
Health food fads from the pseudo-medical community are tottering at best. These basic principles have proven true:
- Avoid high-sugar and high-salt foods.
- Eat foods low on the glycemic index.
- Limit processed meats like bacon, sausage, hot dogs and lunch meat.
- Quit the microwavable meals.
- Drink water and treat all other liquids as desserts.
To Transform Blob into Bulk
To lose weight and gain health, physical exercise is not optional.
Some doctors recommend boot camp-like regimens. Since up to 25% of weight loss can come from reduced muscle mass, doctors recommend lowering your caloric intake and upping your thrice weekly exercise routine. Jog, swim or hopscotch until your heart rate is at 70 percent of maximum. Keep a goal journal. Whew.
But not everyone has an hour daily to dash off the YMCA and play soldier, and not everyone wants to pay a $50 monthly membership. There are, thankfully, cheaper ways you can sustain a workout regimen, whether that means jogging around the block, or doing sit ups in the morning before work. The solution is so simple, so drastic, that it can hardly be contemplated.
Mirror, Mirror
Vanity has proven a poor motivation for long-term health. Tempted by cinema, television, video games and social networking, the average American watches five hours of TV daily. Vanity has given way to vicarious, sedentary living.
And with internet availability, we’re beginning to see something of a double-edged sword. In developing Latin American and Asian nations, there has been some noted increase in sedentary lifestyles in countries that have more modern technology. However, this likely has less to do with the technology itself than it does the mis-application of the technology. For example, in these same nations, satellite internet, and even some apps, are also helping to enrich healthcare infrastructure and the mechanisms through which organizations and hospitals communicate in crisis situations.
The trick long term is to promote healthier lifestyles in the United States and abroad, and to ensure that, for all the ways that modern technology can be distracting, that it is also used toward constructive ends.
