Being healthier seems too obvious!
Not being either a US Citizen or even a resident takes away my right to contribute an opinion. The matter is entirely a domestic one for those living in the USA.
But my life-long Californian buddy, Dan, recently sent me an article published in the Wall Street Journal on the 12th August. The article was written by John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods Market Inc. so this isn’t an impartial perspective. (And see an important foot-note at the end of this Post)
But the last part of the article is good common sense, as you can read:
Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.
Unfortunately many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.
Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient
dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat. We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.
Health-care reform is very important. Whatever reforms are enacted it is essential that they be financially responsible, and that we have the freedom to choose doctors and the health-care services that best suit our own unique set of lifestyle choices. We are all responsible for our own lives and our own health. We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom to make wise lifestyle choices that will protect our health. Doing so will enrich our lives and will help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.
This does make me wonder why politicians in the US (and in Britain) aren’t putting much more energy into health reform, as in encouraging and supporting people into requiring fewer medical interventions!
By Paul Handover
Footnote: In the article, John Mackey says, “Although Canada has a population smaller than California, 830,000 Canadians are currently waiting to be admitted to a hospital or to get treatment, according to a report last month in Investor’s Business Daily. In England, the waiting list is 1.8 million.” (My italics)
This figure just didn’t resonate with me in any way. A quick piece of research showed that referral to treatment statistics have been published monthly by the UK National Health Service (NHS) since June 2007. The latest figures indicate that in June 2009, 93.6% of admitted pathways and 97.8% of non-admitted pathways were completed in 18 weeks or less. There is no way that this correlates with the figure of 1.8 million on a waiting list, as written by Mackey. I think Mackey is wrong here.
Learning from Dogs 