Did you know that Americans are spending more on health care than any other industrialized nation? While this may not be a surprise to all people, what is a surprise is that simultaneously Americans also have one of the lowest life expectancies.
In 2014, health care spending hit $3.8 trillion. The average life expectancy for an American is about 79 years old. This is much greater than ever before, when the life expectancy used to be about 60 years old. The life expectancy for people living in Japan is 83, for people living in Western Europe is 82, and for people living in Great Britain is about 82. So why are Americans lagging behind? The main reason is diet. People are most likely aware that America is suffering from an obesity epidemic. In Japan, only 1.5 percent of the population is obese. In France, six percent of the population is obese. In the United States, 36 percent of the population is obese.
Why is the obesity rate in the United States so much higher than other countries? The diet of Americans, also known as the “western diet” is not exactly healthy. As Americans we eat a lot of processed foods, foods that are higher in fat and sugar, foods high in sodium, and not enough fruits and vegetables. We also modify our foods by adding a lot of antibiotics and chemicals to our foods. All of these unnatural and overconsumed ingredients and hormones are causing people to gain weight, as well as become more prone to more serious health conditions such as diabetes.
The estimated annual health care costs of obesity-related illness are over $190 billion or nearly 21 percent of annual medical spending in the United States. For childhood obesity alone, about $14 billion is spent in medical costs. The total medical cost spent diabetes is over $200 billion, and for heart disease, is over $400 billion.
As a result of the obesity epidemic, people are developing more serious conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. All of these conditions are extremely expensive to manage and cost Americans a lot of money. Americans may be the best in healthcare when considering innovative technologies and advanced forms of treatment for all different types of cancers and disease, however we are behind in our actual health.
We may not be able to control the cost of health care, but we can control our health. And by controlling our health, we can control how much we spend on health care. Therefore it is important to reduce their risk for obesity, which can prevent more serious health conditions. The best way to reduce your risk for obesity, prevent obesity, or get your obesity under control is to exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet such as the Mediterranean diet, know your triggers that make you want to eat more than you should, check your weight on a regular basis, and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle that lasts for the rest of your life instead of just temporarily.
Americans need to start developing healthy habits at an early age that way it is far more likely to become a habit, rather than wait until later in life and try to reverse the damage that has been done from years of frivolousness. If a child is introduced to things like fruits, vegetables, and good lean protein sources such as fish, chicken, turkey, and steak, they will tend to crave those items rather than junk food. Unfortunately many parents due what is easiest for them, rather than what is best for their children when it comes to their nutritional habits.
Exercise should be encouraged from an early onset as well instead of letting kids sit in front of their ipad, iphone, laptop, or television. Studies show that children who do not partake in exercise or athletics develop social interaction issues from the lack of interaction with others. It is important that children interact with their parents, siblings, teachers, and friends on a regular basis without the use of electronics all the time. The best way to invest in your kids is to be active as a family and choose healthier options for meals. This way you get the best of both worlds, healthy people that you love and investing the effort to make sure they are around as long as possible.