Why It Matters

From the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

• Each year in the United States, chronic disease such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes cause 7 in 10 deaths and account for about 75% of the $2 trillion spent on medical care.

• In 2010, the economic costs of cardiovascular diseases and stroke were estimated at $444.2 billion, including $272.5 billion in direct medical expenses and $171.7 billion in indirect costs.

• In 2007, medical costs attributed to diabetes included $27 billion for care to directly treat diabetes, $58 billion to treat diabetes-related chronic complications attributable to diabetes, and $31 billion in excess general medical costs

• In 2008, the estimated health care costs related to obesity were $147 billion 

• Indirect costs for employers associated with poor employee health, including absenteeism, presenteeism, disability, or reduced work output, may be several times higher than direct medical costs. Productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost US employers $1,685 per employee per year, or $225.8 billion annually.

The health of our healthcare system and the health of our economy is directly related to our lifestyle choices. This isn't about "them" anymore. It is about all of us.

If you are healthy, your job is to help others get to better health. If you're not healthy, your assignment is to find someone to help you get healthy. Don't wait for the promise of a new diet pill or the hope for gastric bypass surgery. Do something right now. Every little choice matters. Every moment counts. Every day is a new day to take a step closer to a healthy lifestyle.

Good for you. Good for us. Good for our healthcare system. Good for our economy. We're in this together. Let's help each other.

How to Choose You

Wednesday's three tips for wellness stand: Water. Cook. Walk. If you start with those three things, you'll be on your way to better health. To choose you, choose wellness and help save our healthcare system, I'm going to add two more: sleep and plan.
Water

• Drink plenty of water each day.
• Give up all processed, sugar-laden and fake-sugar-laden drinks.

Cook

• Prepare at least 80% of your meals at home (17 meals a week; make your lunch and take it with you).
• Use whole, natural ingredients (opening a box of something, adding a liquid and heating does not count as cooking).

Walk

• Walk at least 30 minutes every day.
• Add other exercise (start with strength training 2x/week, flexibility 2x/week and build from there).

Sleep

• Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night.

Plan

• Each Sunday, plan your upcoming week to include:
• What you'll eat
• How you'll exercise

If you do these five things, consistently, you're on a good path to wellness. When you're on a good path to wellness the people around you will notice and follow your lead. Then the people around them will follow their lead. And pretty soon, we'll be able to reverse the obesity trend and preserve our healthcare system and help our economy. Every choice matters. Every person matters. Choose you. Choose them. Choose us.

It's Complicated

If you read yesterday, I shared three simple things you can do to help reverse the trend of obesity to help prevent the possible collapse of our healthcare system.

It really is that easy and it really is much more complicated. There are a whole bunch of reasons it is so difficult to get healthy and stay that way:

• Our education system doesn't teach meaningful health and wellness
• Farm policy makes unhealthy fake "foods" artifically cheap
• We cook too little and eat out too much
• We spend too much time with the television or computer and not enough time moving our bodies
• People work and commute longer leaving less leisure time to cook and exercise
• We don't listen to our own bodies enough; we listen to commercial advertising too often
• People think eating whole, real food is too expensive, too time consuming, or too difficult
• There are big, big dollars being spent by the companies that profit the most from our ill-health (food manufacturers, big Ag and drug companies... in my darker moments, I wondered if big Ag and fake food makers are in cahoots with big pharma. We're made fat by the former and treated by the latter...)

So, yes, it is complicated. And, yes, it does require personal effort to lose weight and get healthy. And, yes, there is a big, profitable machine working very hard to keep things just the way they are.

The biggest yes of all? What you do, and each choice you make, matters. You can refuse to be a victim.

I want you to choose you and choose wellness.

What To Do

I'm devoting this week's writing to our collective healthcare system. Here's the gist, so far:

• Each of our individual choices regarding our health and wellness impacts everyone else
• We need to spend less money on healthcare to save the healthcare system (and perhaps our entire economy)

There are three, very simple things each and every one of us can do to make a difference:

1. Drink only water
2. Eat at home
3. Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day

Period. More tomorrow...

Why It Matters

We are in "it" together. Life, that is, and our healthcare system. Having spent 20+ years consulting in the healthcare system, I could spend hours explaining how each and every one of us impacts the healthcare system for the rest of us. I won't bore you with the details, instead, will trust you trust me. If you're interested. write to me and I'd be happy to explain the technical details. For now, consider this:

Think of a balloon. There is only so much air we can put into the balloon before it will burst. The strength of the balloon walls will eventually collaspe with the increased pressure of adding air. Our healthcare system will also collapse unless we do something drastically different. Why?

We continue to spend more money on healthcare in the United States. Healthcare is now 17.3% of the GDP; we spent $2.5 trillion dollars on healthacare in 2009. Part of the spend is inefficiency and can be fixed, but it almost doesn't matter. Here's why:

• The vast majority of money we spend in our healthcare system is to treat conditions that are largely preventable and are directly related to lifestyle choices
• New drugs, tests and surgeries only add cost to the system and their efficacy in treating long-term lifestyle choices is suspect, at best.

The only way to save our healthcare system is for each and every one of us to get, and stay, as healthy as we can. This isn't my problem or your problem, it is our collective problem. If so much of our collective money goes to pay for healthcare we have less money for other things (like education and social security ). It doesn't matter how much of your insurance premium you pay or how much your employer pays. The money comes from somewhere. And the cost goes somewhere. It Acme Manufacturing Company has to pay more in healthcare costs for its employees it is adding those costs to the price you pay for the widget at the store.

Put simply, we have to stop spending so much on healthcare. The only way to do that is for each of us to stop needing so much healthcare. How? We have to reverse the trend of obesity so we use less of our healthcare dollars to treat the preventable health problems (like weight loss surgeries and prespcription drugs to treat high blood pressure, cholestorol and diabetes).

We have to do what we can, each and every day, so that we have a healthcare system to help us when we really need it.

Health Matters

Two facts:

• Health insurance premiums continue to rise (even with passage of health reform)
• Obesity costs the US $147 billion per year (in direct medical costs alone)

These two facts are related. The amount we pay in health insurance premiums is impacted by many things, including the inefficiency of the system and the cost of administration. It is also significantly impacted by the costs associated with obesity. As the costs of obesity rise so will our health insurance premiums. Carole Carson wrote today, "One out of two Americans will require treatment for diabetes or prediabetes-at an annual cost of $3.35 trillion-less than 10 years from now..."

I contend solving rampant obesity is critical for the United States. Our economy simply cannot withstand the pressure of this largely preventable spend. Our effort and ability to maintain our own health could be considered our patriotic duty.

More as the week goes on. For now, consider this... are you doing everything in your power to maintain a healthy weight and stay healthy? 

Cold Feet?

What do you when you notice your feet are cold? Some people put on socks. Some people go to the Internet to search for a disease which lists cold feet as a symptom.

The sock people will, in many cases, get warm feet. The Internet people will cause themselves a great deal of worry and upset.

If your body is telling you something is wrong, perhaps you could look inside to find a solution. If you don't find anything there, perhaps you could look at your environment. And then maybe take a look at the choices you make.

Perhaps, many of the things we look to "experts" to cure could be fixed (with much less hassle) by paying more attention to what we do and what we don't do. We could do ourselves, and each other, a huge favor by simply being aware of the choices we make and making different ones when the first choices don't work for us any longer. Could health be so simple? Perhaps so.

Don't Eat Anger

Most likely, we've all had the experience of feeling our own anger or having someone else's anger directed at us. Neither situation feels particularly good. And, neither situation is particularly good for our health. Experiencing anger, either inwardly or outwardly, increases negativity around us and our body doesn't discriminate if it is our anger or someone else's. To the body, anger is anger and it sets off a whole series of biochemical reactions which can negatively impact our health.

It is also unhealthy to feel anger and eat it. Some of us (hello women!) want to be seen as the "good girl" so we don't express our anger, we simply swallow it. Now we are not only experiencing anger but we are consuming it and keeping it inside us where it can fester and continue to negatively impact our health. I've heard some people theorize cancers are caused by eaten anger that, over time, begins to eat away at our bodies. Interesting, eh?

The point of this writing is not to depress you or cause you to begin to spew anger at those nearby (unfortunately, we often direct our anger at those closest to us and are incredibly sweet to strangers). The point of this writing is to give you a productive and, dare I say funny, way to get rid of any anger you may have stored up and a way to disperse any anger you feel in the future. This is a very simple process and one which can be used anywhere (granted some people may think you a bit odd if you do so in public). I give credit for this exercise to Joshua Rosenthal, founder of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Step 1: Growl.

Growl aloud. Use your claws, if you are so inclined. Growl big. Growl loud. Growl and use your best lion or bear or panther or coyote voice.

Step 2: Spew.
Raise your voice and, in only made up words, argue. No real words (in any language) should be used. Use your hands, get your face muscles involved and spew. You can think all of the real words you wish, though I contend you'll be laughing in about 10 seconds and will completely forget any real words of anger you may have felt. The idea is akin to the Far Side

cartoon about what a dog hears. "Blah, blah, blah." But when you're spewing your made up words use all of the passion you feel in your anger.

I practiced this exercise with my classmates. And, we were all laughing in seconds. The exercise is brilliant because it gets your energy moving and moves the anger outside of your body. And, you start to laugh and realize how very silly most actual arguing sounds. Life is simply too short to have anger and is really too short to hold on to it.

So next time you feel angry, either at yourself, your partner, your kids, your co-workers, your boss, or traffic remember two simple things... growl and spew. Enjoy!

Exercise or Xanax?

What a wonderful world it would be if our medical system prescribed exercise instead of prescription drugs for anxiety. A recently published study showed regular exercise reduced anxiety symptoms by 20%.

Is this a big deal? Here come some stats from 2008 US sales data:

• $14.6 billion in anti psychotics
• $9.6 billion in antidepressants
• $4.8 billion in ADHD meds

Grand total: $29 billion.

The 2008 budget for US National Parks operations: $2 billion.

Does anyone else see something wrong with this? It borders on criminal.

Change and Signs

For those of you on a break from conventional news, the DC-Maryland area was hit with more than 2 feet of snow last weekend. It started on Friday and many Federal Government offices began closing at Noon, schools closed early, businesses allowed staff to leave before 5 PM.

By the time the snow stopped and the clouds parted on Saturday evening, it was fairly clear this storm would have significant impact on the area for several days. In fact, at this writing (9 PM on Monday), some of our roads have still not been plowed. And almost all of them are risky - Interstate 95 included.

The forecast is predicting another 10-20" of snow tomorrow afternoon into Wednesday. Schools remain closed, the Federal Government will be closed tomorrow and many private businesses have already told their staff to work from home.

I am curious how much commerce has stopped. Granted, retail and restaurants are suffering. A local steakhouse was closed for 3 days and had to throw away a significant amount of food - that amount of loss will hurt any business. Most everyone else I know continued to work. We worked through the weekend with email and conference calls. We here at Cybercise got quite a bit accomplished without the regular demands (or distractions) vying for our time. We also had time to play in the snow, take photos, cook, read, chat with family and friends, and enjoy the wonder of it all without anywhere we had to be. While getting more work done!

Could blizzards be a way for us to recognize change is needed? Do we have to drive 30+ miles to the office each day wasting our time and polluting the environment only to sit in a cubicle or, worse, in a meeting for 8 hours?

I, for one, think we can take Blizzard 2010 v.1 and inbound Blizzard 2010 v.2 as a sign for change. What if we each telecommuted 2 or 3 days a week? I theorize we would: get more actual work done, help the planet, improve our quality of life, have more time to exercise, have the energy to cook a healthful meal for our family, save money (our money = gas + clothing + lunch out and our employers' money = power + office supplies, etc.). With all of that we would be less stressed and have time to take better care of ourselves... therefore we'd be more healthy, therefore saving our health care system.

Can we all simply realize there is a much better way to live?

Awareness

I went into a new sandwich, salad and soup shop for lunch today. It was a pretty small place, maybe 15 tables and most of them were full. This was my first time visiting this particular establishment so I was unsure of what to expect. In front of me snaked a line of 5 or 6 people and a full place - I was encouraged. After deciding on mixed greens topped with couscous and chickpeas, I started to look around at what other people were eating. Most of them were having sandwichs - the bread looked really good.

And, then I looked at the people. Every single patron was overweight. Literally, every single one of the 30 or 40 people in there could have lost at least 20 pounds. At least half of them would be considered obese. What is happening?

We know the statistics from the CDC say that more than one-third of the adults in the U.S. are obese. We know that nearly two-thirds are considered overweight. I'm baffled why the trends are not getting better - and they are not. Virtually no improvement in obesity rates in the last few years. The good news is that it is not really getting worse, but the long term impact on the all of us is frightening.

Obesity is expensive (from the CDC):

• In 2000, obesity-related health care costs totaled an estimated $117 billion.
• Between 1987 and 2001, diseases associated with obesity account for 27% of the increases in medical costs.
• Medical expenditures for obese workers, depending on severity of obesity and sex, are between 29%–117% greater than expenditures for workers with normal weight.
• From 1979–1981 to 1997–1999, annual hospital costs related to obesity among children and adolescents increased, rising from $35 million to $127 million.

Perhaps the first step in solving this problem is awareness. Look at the people around you. Not in judgement or disdain. Simply be aware. How many of your family members need to lose some weight? How about friends and co-workers?

We can all make changes. Small steps, each day. Give up soda tomorrow. Have a piece of fruit instead of a sugary snack for dessert. Take a walk around the block this evening after dinner. If you are in shape and at a healthy weight, keep up the good work to set an example for others. Invite a friend along. We can make improvements and even have some fun at it if we work on it together. Take a walk with me... won't you?

Exercise and Work Quality

A great article in today's Honolulu Star Bulletin about exercise and work. The article quotes molecular biologist John Medina who says "exercise boosts brain power." How many of us would appreciate more brain power? *roars from the crowd*

The bottom line is we all know exercise is good for us. And, we sometimes have a hard time making it work in our lives. This is precisely why we created Cybercise. Even a quick workout, stretching routine or cardio program is better than doing nothing.

Read the article for inspiration and send it to your boss. We have corporate Cybercise memberships so your whole company can get healthy together and work quality goes up and health care costs and absenteeism goes down. Win-win-win!