What is an ounce of prevention worth today?
It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. However, considering inflation and the cost-of-living-index, what is an ounce of prevention really worth today? After all, with the incredible advancements in science and medicine, there seems to be a cure for just about everything. “Better life though chemistry”… isn’t that the new saying for those living in the 21st century?
George burns once said, “If you live to be 100, you’ve got it made. Very few people die past that age.” It’s no secret that we’re living longer. In 1960 there were 3,000 “Centenarians” (People at or over the age of 100) in America. Today there are over 70,000, and that number is rapidly growing.
If you were born between 1946 and 1964 you’re a Baby-Boomer. In the year 2050, the average Baby-Boomer, who is still alive, will be at or over 100 years old. When that happens, there won’t be 70,000, or even 100,000 Centenarians. There will be approximately one million!
Right now, 80 million Baby-Boomers are entering our healthcare system. All will live an average of 30-35 years longer than those who lived in America 100 years ago.
It’s the old good news – bad news. The good news? Due to modern medical advances, your body is going to last longer than you ever thought possible. The bad news? Due to modern medical advances, your body is going to last longer than you ever thought possible.
George Santayana said, “There is no cure for birth and death, save to enjoy the interval.” As a health and fitness consultant for over 20 years, I have long stopped talking about the benefits of good nutrition and exercise, as it relates to adding years to one’s life. Most of those I lecture to and work with are not really concerned about living longer. I’ve found that most in their later years are not afraid of dying. They’re afraid of losing their independence.
Your most valuable asset
Consequently, my primary focus in motivating people toward a healthier lifestyle, is all about helping them see the benefits of better maintaining their most valuable asset − their body. This safeguards their ability to enjoy the interval between birth and death. It’s a simple concept called prevention.
The quote-machine, and king of common sense, Yogi Berra, once said, “Predictions are very difficult, especially when you’re talking about the future.” Many years ago, Tomas Edison made the following prediction; “The doctors of the future will prescribe no medicine. Rather they will concern themselves with the maintenance of the body and prevention of disease.”
It obviously made perfectly good sense to Mr. Edison as he predicted the evolution of medicine and health care in America − He believed the intelligent approach to good health, would be to do everything possible to prevent potential health problems from ever occurring in the first place. Certainly everyone knows that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
But once again Yogi wins the day… and it’s a good thing Tomas Edison couldn’t play the Lottery! No prediction, that I’m aware of, has ever been further off the mark. Today in America, without question, the prescriptions written by most doctors, are for medicine, not prevention. The result of this uncommon sense? America is now the fattest industrialized nation on the planet, and the cost of health care is off the chart!
Health care spending in America continues to rise at a rapid rate seriously crippling the income of both businesses and families. In 2008, total national health expenditures were expected to rise 6.9 percent − two times the rate of inflation. Total spending was $2.4 TRILLION in 2007, or $7,900 per person. Spending is expected to increase at similar levels for the next decade reaching $4.3 TRILLION in 2017.¹
I don’t blame the doctors, entirely, though they should know better. If you talk to any physician, you will quickly learn that 95% of their years of training is all about diagnosing and treating medical problems, not figuring out how to prevent them. This truth was made clear to me recently while sitting in the hospital room of a friend who had experienced warning signs of a heart attack. When his cardiologist walked in, I almost fell off my chair. He was at least 70 pounds overweight! Which begs the question, how could someone who’s livelihood consists of operating on people with cardiovascular disease, neglect doing the simple things necessary to personally prevent that disease?
Consider these facts; 70% of all health-care costs are the direct result of behavior. 74% of all costs are confined to four chronic conditions; (1) cardiovascular disease, (2) cancer, (3) diabetes, and (4) obesity. 80% of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is preventable. 60% of cancers are preventable. And, 90% of obesity is preventable.
I certainly don’t have all the answers to fixing health care in America, but I do know this much; there is no way someone like myself − who takes excellent care of his body with maintenance and prevention − should have to pay the same for health insurance, as my friend’s cardiologist!
Personal responsibility
Why are so many people so stubborn when it comes to the relatively simple task of taking good care of their most valuable asset − their body? Most people will spend more time and money on a good maintenance program for their automobiles and pets, than they will their own body.
And again, it’s not necessarily about maintenance and prevention to live longer. It’s about spending as little time as possible, sick, at the doctor, in the hospital, on medication, etc. Especially in today’s economy, it’s about spending fewer dollars treating ailments and diseases that could have been prevented.
It’s amazing to contrast the difference between the approach taken with dental health care, and every other kind of health care. You can’t get out of the dentist’s office without being lectured on everything you need to do to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. Brush, floss, gargle, and get your teeth cleaned often, etc..
As soon as our children can stand at the bathroom sink without falling, we painstakingly show them how to correctly brush their teeth − teaching them that they only have one set of teeth so they best brush often. Then we keep up the pressure on them to make sure brushing becomes a daily habit.
My personal stimulus program
Thirty years ago I stepped out of the NFL feeling like I had exercised enough for several lifetimes. So I decided I really didn’t need to workout anymore. It wasn’t long before my health suffered. I began to get sick more often, stress levels increased, my resting heart rate and blood pressure climbed, my energy level dropped, and I developed furniture disease − my chest fell into my drawers.
The difference for me was that I could remember how different things were when I was in great physical shape. I decided that I really didn’t like sitting in a doctor’s office, paying for prescription medicine, or feeling weak and tired. So I determined whatever I needed to do to regain and maintain my strength, energy, flexibility, heart-health, and vitality, I was going to do it!
Because I had spent so many years exercising for hours a day, this time I took a very different approach. I knew the key was to reestablished exercise as a habit done every day, compared to when I could get around to it. So I decided on a daily workout, with intensity, for only ten minutes.
I realized I was taking the same approach with my body prevention program, as with my dental prevention program. I realized exercise would only become a habit I would stick with for the rest of my life, if I forced myself to do it every day. I considered it my daily multivitamin of exercise. A concentrated workout designed to give my body its daily requirement of strength, stretching, energy boost, endorphin release, heart health, and fat burn.
Was this daily 10-minute workout the only exercise I did? Often yes. It was all I had time for. But as I regained my health and strength I found it easier to get out and do all kinds of exercise that I really enjoy; tennis, hiking, canoeing, biking, etc.. Ultimately, it was this daily ten minute maintenance and prevention commitment, that got me back on track to good health. Even now, twenty years later, it is still my daily ounce of prevention.
Trust me on this, it’s been worth much, much more than a pound of cure. It’s kept me out of the doctor’s office, away from the pharmacy, and well on my way to enjoying every day God gives me between the interval of my birth and death.
So why not become a part of the solution to health care reform in America? Don’t wait for the government to bail you out. There’s no Washington stimulus program coming that will do for you what only you can do for yourself. It’s not as difficult as you might think. Start tomorrow morning, right after you finish brushing your teeth.
