Now that Obamacare has become the law of the land and the political disputes over healthcare reform are largely settled, many Americans are worried about the costs of the new insurance policies, especially considering the dismal health status of millions of our citizens.
Why should we pick up the tab when so much disease in our country stems from unhealthy behavior like smoking and overeating, asked one commentator in the New York Times. Im sure such sentiments are widely shared. Many Americans would welcome higher premiums for those who indulge in unhealthy lifestyles, thereby punishing them for their lack of personal responsibility.
But personal responsibility is a complex notion, especially when it comes to health, says Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist and director at the Heart Failure Program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. Unhealthy habits are one factor in disease, but so are social status, income, family dynamics, education and genetics. [] When people advocate the need for personal accountability, they presuppose more control over health and sickness than actually exists.
The same goes for those who enjoy excellent health. Their advantages are not based on virtue alone. A report that was commissioned a few years ago by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, titled Reaching Americas Health Potential, concluded that the greatest differences in peoples health status are determined by their education levels, which, of course, also reflects to a large extent socio-economic differences. Even life expectancy is affected by educational standards, one study found.
Education is a marker for an array of opportunities and resources that can lead people to better or worse health, says Dr. David Williams, the staff director of the commission tasked with the report. A good education can offer greater job and career opportunities, higher income, more meaningful and creative work, a wider social network and support system. And access to healthcare is more likely.
When the sociologist Robert K. Merton of Columbia University first coined the term Accumulated Advantage, a.k.a. the Matthew Effect (taking the name from the Gospel of Matthew, verse 25:29), he described these dynamics as applicable to nearly every part of our lives, including our health.
Getting an education, and particularly health education, is not necessarily a matter of formal learning. It starts in the home, in early childhood. If healthy eating is encouraged, if food is valued, if sharing meals is a part of family life, chances are a solid foundation is laid for a lifetime of nutritional wellbeing. A fat reducing overview can help you build a clear outline of what you require to focus on to accomplish your fat reduction goal if you're a rookie; or serve as a reminder for these who are at an advanced or more improve step of their losing weight program. Applying are seven steps that can serve as instructions for your special weight loss program. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not the same thing. Many weight loss applications have fooled people into thinking that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss plans only work by producing a person's body to burn more muscle flesh and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. The same applies for physical activity and weight management. One leads to the other. Conversely, if fast food and pizza are the usual choix du jour, if smoking, drinking or drug abuse are considered acceptable behavior, if exercise is rare or nonexistent, then the consequences are predictable from the start.
But lets be honest. There are poor eating habits, but there are also food-deserts where nutritious food is hard to come by. There is lack of exercise, but there are also not enough safe sidewalks, bike paths and public parks in low-income neighborhoods. There are dysfunctional families, but there are also countless parents working sometimes multiple low-paying jobs while desperately trying to provide their kids with a sense of home.
Universal health care must address all these issues, not just in terms of giving access to treatment for everyone who needs it but, even more importantly, in terms of preventing illness as much as possible. We cannot afford less.
If you liked this article, you may also enjoy reading "What Your Neighborhood Says About Your Health."
Timi Gustafson R.D. is a registered dietitian, newspaper columnist, blogger and author of the book The Healthy Diner How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun, which is available on her blog and at amazon.com. For more articles on nutrition, health and lifestyle, visit her blog, Food and Health with Timi Gustafson R.D. (www.timigustafson.com). You can follow Timi on Twitter and on Facebook.
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