Being Healthy is Simple Actually

 

James Flanagan

HST401-A

                                                                        Being Healthy is Simple Actually

Don’t you just hate it when your doctor says all you need to do to be healthy is just diet and exercise. It gets even worse when you realize that diet and exercise is the most effective way to prevent obesity. Which according to the CDC, affects 41.9% of U.S. adults over 20, and is known to cause, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, and more. We know that obesity is the cause of these symptoms, but it’s not what is being targeted by the healthcare system. Which promotes expensive drugs and treatments to fix the symptoms of obesity rather than the root cause. Western medicine in the United States is treatment focused and is reacting to ailments as they arise. While this keeps patients alive and stops negative symptoms, patients become dependent on regular drugs and treatment to stay healthy. Healthcare in the United States would be much more effective if its focus was on making people be healthy and not just treating symptoms.

              With the development of new medical technology, we get better at treating common diseases such as heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, “since 1950 death rates from cardiovascular disease have declined by 60%.” Developments in imaging, bypass surgeries, drugs, have allowed for better diagnosis and treatment which have reduced the death rates.  Cardiovascular disease may not be as deadly as it was 70 years ago, but it has not gone away. 45% of all Americans will have some form of cardiovascular disease in their life. About 1,905 people die from heart disease every day in the United States. The rising demand for healthcare is unsustainable.

As more people need treatment for cardiovascular diseases, prices for treatment rise because of demand. Placing a large financial burden on patients who are already struggling with health problems. Also, due to a reactive approach, treatment only starts after a patient already has heart disease. For some, treatment may be too late for them and will not have any meaningful impact on their lives. This is why U.S. healthcare is the most expensive, yet the U.S. is ranked 60th for life expectancy. No matter what new treatment is developed, heart disease will still kill. It would be a better use of resources to try to prevent people from developing heart disease in the first place. Having a healthy lifestyle, including clean eating, regular exercise, and stronger societal encouragement to prioritize health, is essential.

While U.S. healthcare is focused on treating problems as they arise, Japan utilizes social norms to proactively promote health among its citizens. Japanese citizens are the healthiest people in the world. In 2023 Shinagawa Healthcare, a medical clinic in the Philippines, stated “Japan places a strong emphasis on preventive care because of its ingrained culture of moderation, self-control, and harmony. This cultural ethos is deeply embedded in everyday life, influencing dietary habits, exercise routines, and stress management practices. The Japanese diet prioritizes fresh, seasonal, and minimally processed foods, including nutrient-rich fish, vegetables, and fermented products like miso and tofu.” This description of Japanese life is almost the opposite of American life. Where the Japanese practice moderation and self-control, the United States is known for overindulgence. The average American diet is laughable in comparison to Japan too, featuring mostly processed food that is high in sugar, red meat, and fast food which are not as common in Japan. This difference in diet has a huge impact on general health, as Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country, and they also have some of the least expensive healthcare. It is as simple as this, the healthier the general population is, the less ailments they develop. Which means less expensive treatments and dependence on the healthcare system to stay alive. Leading to longer and more fulfilling lives.

The biggest problem with healthcare in the United States is not the healthcare system itself, it is the general publics lack of interest in their own health. It’s becoming a common assumption that medicine is advanced enough to treat most common issues such as heart disease, so people push healthy lifestyles aside. Meanwhile it would be much better and cheaper to live healthily because people would need to receive less treatment. The sad truth is that it is much easier to take a pill every morning than it is to eat healthily and exercise daily. Maybe the government could implement higher taxes on processed foods to incentivize healthier diets. Healthcare providers could also do a better job of informing patients about all the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle to try to convince more people to try it. Ultimately this problem is ingrained deeply in American society and will take a lot of legislation and social change for any real progress to be made.

 

 

 

 

Countries With the Longest and Shortest Life Expectancies

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/countries-with-the-longest-and-shortest-life-expectancies#:~:text=U.S.%20life%20expectancy%20was%2076,like%20Estonia%20and%20Saudi%20Arabia.

Embracing a Healthier Future: The Japanese Approach to Prioritizing Preventive Care over Reactive Care

https://shinagawa-healthcare.ph/the-japanese-approach-to-prioritizing-preventive-care-over-reactive-care/

More than half of U.S. adults don’t know heart disease is leading cause of death, despite 100-year reign

https://newsroom.heart.org/news/more-than-half-of-u-s-adults-dont-know-heart-disease-is-leading-cause-of-death-despite-100-year-reign#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20people%20in,improved%20diagnosis%20and%20treatment%20options.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scaling the Potential of Vertical Farming Going into 2025 and Beyond

Image
  Matthew P Kearney Scaling the Potential of Vertical Farming Going into 2025 and Beyond      Vertical farming may seem like something out of a futuristic movie, but they are very real in today’s agricultural industry. Vertical farming may promote a stronger relationship between urbanization and sustainable crop production. Based on recent innovations across agriculture and technology, vertical farming has the potential to revolutionize our current farming system. Through the development of vertical farming-based production lines, cities and otherwise unfarmable areas can be provided with fresh, local, and pesticide-free produce. Vertical farming and other adaptations of agriculture are not new ideas, but instead a historic and human process.      These technologies are ready to meaningfully address global food security through the technological and computational advancements in agriculture. Vertical farming has a promising future, which becomes a case...
Read more

Knot Your Average Problem: How do Tongue Ties Impact Oral Myofunctional Health?

Image
  Hadia Hussain      Knot Your Average Problem: How do Tongue Ties Impact Oral Myofunctional Health? Sitting in the nursery of the dental office where I worked, I reviewed Baby V’s medical history and reports from the Emergency Department at Jersey City Medical Center. I found it odd that, despite multiple visits and clear signs of malnutrition, no physician had been able to diagnose the cause. Baby V, at a low weight of 12 pounds was struggling with difficulty nursing and bottle feeding, excessive gassiness, colic, clicking sounds when feeding, milk dribbling out of the mouth, and mouth breathing—but doctors had dismissed these signs, labeling him as "healthy."  It didn’t make sense as his low weight raised serious concerns.  According to Pediatric specialists Jenny Olson, DNP, and Sarha DeVrieze, ARNP, at the UnityPoint Clinic, a 9-month-old baby boy should weigh anywhere in between the range of 17 to 25 pounds. Baby V's situation was clearly a ...
Read more

Crisis to Care: NJ’s Battle with Addiction and Homelessness

Image
Vrinda Modi Crisis to Care: NJ’s Battle with Addiction and Homelessness      “Roll a rig!”, I hear over the radio a second after the tones drop. As an EMT in Hoboken, it's all too common for me to respond to at least one 911 call per shift for an individual under the influence passed out on the sidewalk—usually flagged by a concerned bystander or a police officer who believes they might need medical attention. More often than not, the real issue isn't just medical; it's societal. These individuals, often homeless, have become part of the city’s landscape, invisible to most but impossible to ignore. When I ask for their address, it's almost always the local shelter. When we arrive at the ER, we’re often greeted by familiar eye-rolls from disgruntled hospital staff. The ER clerk barely glances up, lets out a sigh, and asks, “Substance abuse?” I nod. “Who is it this time?” By now, the hospital staff know each chronic substance abuser in the city by name. Behind the hospit...
Read more