Thursday, September 24, 2009

Where has all the prevention gone?

This time last year, supporters of healthy lifestyles were buoyed by the stump speeches of of then candidate Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. They spoke of prevention, exercise and healthy eating habits. They didn't agree on much, but they did both speak of the power of healthy lifestyles in reducing health care costs.

Fast forward one year. Despite all the rhetoric from Democrats, Republics, Members of Congress, the Administration and all the cable news pundits, real prevention appears to be the forgotten solution. Now that all the major bills have been introduced, it's clear that the oratorical support for healthy diets and regular exercise have not yet translated into policy initiatives.

This is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, if the causes of chronic diseases, which account for 75% of health care spending are not adequately addressed, no amount of reforms on paper will bring real costs savings. To put it in medical terms, we're treating the symptoms, not the disease. And at the rate our society is going (and growing), today's kids will be the first generation to have a shorter life-span than their parents. How will this play out if that generation is still struggling to reign in health care costs because no one stepped up to the plate and told Americans it's time to start making some hard decisions.

Our CEO, Joe Moore, often writes about the creation of a culture of wellness. I love this. Not because I work for the health club industry, but because I am someone that tries to do what I can in my daily life to make healthy choices. Once you start to educate yourself about wellness and prevention the truth of what our daily habits are doing to us is shocking. Maybe this was what it was like back in the day when people didn't understand the full extent of the health implications of smoking cigarettes.

A poll out today says that 79% of Americans support health care reform. So how can the people that support healthy lifestyles take this support and get people to support healthy lifestyles? THe first thing everyone can do is speak out to Congress and President Obama. We need to share our stories about how healthy habits translate into less chronic disease, lower health care costs, and more productive and happy employees.

If everyone tells their story, we can start a movement. Look at what the anti-smoking movement did. Maybe this can be the wellness movement. Join the movement for a healthier America and share your story today. http://ihrsa.org/campaign.

- Breanne McGahey

1 comment:

  1. Very thoughtfull post on wellness. It should be very much helpfull

    Thanks,
    Karim - Creating Power

    ReplyDelete