Wellness and Prevention

Language evolves; the term “Wellness and Prevention” is one of those phrases that have changed to mean something different than it might have meant to people 20 years ago.  The science behind “Wellness and Prevention” shows that 80 percent of all healthcare spending is caused by the way we choose to live our lives.  That also means that people have the opportunity to stay healthy and save money by changing their habits before they get ill.   Most people have heard of the government department called the CDC, but few people realize that the full name is: The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.  Prevention has been part of disease treatment for decades and is fully supported by science. Historically the greatest advances in medicine have come from deceptively simple changes like good nutrition, clean water, washing hands, and immunizations to prevent devastating diseases like polio.  Society has changed, medical knowledge has grown and the challenges of disease prevention are different than they were 20 years ago.

There are many diseases that start off slowly without warning signs long before people become dramatically ill.  Getting a physical is one step to help find people that have warning signs long before they realize that they are ill.  There are other steps to stay healthy that don’t start or end in the doctor’s office. Starting these steps is what you get with “Wellness and Prevention” programs.  To start these programs people first must realize that they need these programs.  People can easily notice unhealthy things about someone else, but most people forget about looking in the mirror. People change the oil in the car because they know that in the long run it will save them money.  They can’t tell the motor needs an oil change by listening or driving.  Instead they schedule an appointment with the mechanic, before there are problems.

“Wellness and Prevention” programs offered by            MyHealthVillage.com and LongitudeHealth.com are designed to help people that have the highest risk of getting sick and having high health care costs, change their lives long before they have problems.  LongitudeHealth.com is designed for companies that need a custom solution to keep their employees healthy and on the job, as well as reduce their health insurance costs.

Changing a person’s habits is hard. People aren’t always able to change by themselves.  Our health guides help people make changes that matter, in a kind and friendly manner.   When I go to the mall I can pick out people that will soon be sick.  However, I don’t say anything because that isn’t helpful.  Real change takes more than one try.  Our health guides make successful changes easier than doing it alone.

If you smoke, are heavy and inactive you are going to have the most health problems.  Try wearing a pedometer all day long. Normal adult activity is defined as walking five miles a day.  If you walk less than this try gradually walking more. Doing anything is better than nothing.  An ideal weight is different for people that are different heights.  But a rough estimate is if you weigh 200 pounds or more you need to be at least 6 feet 3 inches tall.  If you aren’t that tall, you are too heavy.  This is also called BMI and your BMI should be less than 25.  Visit http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bminojs.htm to calculate your BMI.

This month I did physicals for my sons’ Boy Scout Troop.  There is a new form to fill out and there at the bottom in black and white are the weight regulations.  The form clearly shows at which weight you have health problems that are severe enough that you don’t qualify for all events.  Why?  Imagine kids having to carry a 230 pound adult with a broken leg out of the forest.  The kids are put in danger and the adult is put in danger.  None of the adults I saw at the meeting hit the ideal weight range.  All of the adults were surprised that they were too heavy.  They have good company; most Americans are surprised that they need to make changes.  (Here’s an article that discusses this:

www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(08)01207-2/fulltext)

The first step to true “Wellness and Prevention” is to realize that everybody has to schedule that “oil change”.  Don’t wait until there are problems.  Check your weight, go visit your doctor; get your blood pressure checked and maybe some lab work done.  The next step is the hard one: to change.  Decide on a goal, consider a health guide to help you reach your goal (we have great ones at MyHealthVillage.com).  Reward yourself if you reach your goal on time.  If you don’t reach your goals, it is time to change strategies.  You have an opportunity keep yourself healthy by taking charge early, long before your have problems.