Excellency and Diligency
Thank you to A. Manasa (I know who you are) for leaving me a comment on my last post...I shall address it now...
Comment: In a culture that is so obsessed with money, $$, money, we relegate personal health to the back burner. How can we overcome this obsession and refocus our priorities?
The best way at this point in time to address the issue is to focus on the economics of personal health. You are very correct on your point that personal health is relegated to the back burner versus money or in many cases (as well), looks.
Because so many people care about money, and that is a determinant of many factors in one's life...we must come at the issue of obesity and improving health from a cost-benefit analysis. If we can prove to folks that they will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, in health-care costs, in Rx drugs, in every aspect of their life by being healthier, then we can perhaps condition them to understand that health and life is of the utmost importance.
It's like in the movie "Inconvenient Truth" when Gore shows the diagram of earth versus money. Well, it's not really about Earth versus Money, because frankly without Earth, no one will make money anyway...
Hence, it's not really about Health versus money.
yet, if we can show people that their life will improve and be less expensive by placing a priority on their health status, we may just hit the jackpot in both ways.
I hope that addressed your question.
As far as specifics go...If the government can just understand that by making healthy foods less expensive, and increasing the cost and decreasing the desirability of unhealthy foods, that will be one step in the right direction to improving health...on SO many levels.
Til next time, the burners are turned off...
Comment: In a culture that is so obsessed with money, $$, money, we relegate personal health to the back burner. How can we overcome this obsession and refocus our priorities?
The best way at this point in time to address the issue is to focus on the economics of personal health. You are very correct on your point that personal health is relegated to the back burner versus money or in many cases (as well), looks.
Because so many people care about money, and that is a determinant of many factors in one's life...we must come at the issue of obesity and improving health from a cost-benefit analysis. If we can prove to folks that they will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, in health-care costs, in Rx drugs, in every aspect of their life by being healthier, then we can perhaps condition them to understand that health and life is of the utmost importance.
It's like in the movie "Inconvenient Truth" when Gore shows the diagram of earth versus money. Well, it's not really about Earth versus Money, because frankly without Earth, no one will make money anyway...
Hence, it's not really about Health versus money.
yet, if we can show people that their life will improve and be less expensive by placing a priority on their health status, we may just hit the jackpot in both ways.
I hope that addressed your question.
As far as specifics go...If the government can just understand that by making healthy foods less expensive, and increasing the cost and decreasing the desirability of unhealthy foods, that will be one step in the right direction to improving health...on SO many levels.
Til next time, the burners are turned off...
posted by Dana M. Ellis, MPH, R.D. @ 3:35 PM
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