When you were about twelve years-old did you ever play a game that went something like this, "Would you rather make out with Pimple Faced Janet, or lick the bottom or your sneaker?"
Well, this simple game tends to go away as we grow older, Janet loses her pimples, moves to France and becomes a supermodel. However, this simple game could definitely help some in the prevention of over-eating. TIME recently published an article that came to the conclusion that exercise actually does not prevent us from gaining weight. I get what they are saying, but it is actually the amount we eat after working out that does this. But, I'm not really disagreeing with their conclusions because the research is sound, and also it is COMMON SENSE!
Let me rephrase that. It is A LOT easier to prevent weight gain or decrease your weight with eating habits than exercise, but the only way to increase your lean body mass naturally is exercise (not to mention all the other benefits of exercise).
Scenario: Friday night. Janet has come back from France. Party. You and your friends decide on pizza (Janet still loves pizza although it looks like she hasn't eaten any in a while). Three slices (300 Cals each) are yours along with 4 non-light beers (150 Cals each, you think light beers are for sissies).
Caloric total = 1500! Hmm... lets bring back that 'Would you rather' game.
Would you rather eat all that or instead eat two slices and four light beers (1000 Calories total) and spend one less hour on the treadmill?
The decision seems pretty simple to me. It takes five seconds to ask yourself that question above, or it takes, well, one hour to burn off the extras. So what are you going to do with one extra hour in your day? I'm probably going to spend it at the gym with my wife anyway, but I suggest you use it to get to know Janet a little better.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Diabetes: At least it's keeping America's wallets thin
Let's go over some statistics:
It is estimated that 23.6 million Americans have Diabetes Mellitus (DM)
There were 1.5 million NEW cases of DM in 2007 in 18-70 year-olds (this age range is relevant for a future equation)
It cost $174 billion to treat DM in 2007 -For this post I'll estimate that 80% was paid for by health insurance companies (HIC) ~ $139billion
HIC pay $5900 to treat a person EACH year with DM.
There are 57 million people in the USA with Pre-diabetes
Most Type 2 DM is preventable! <--This is definitely a fact!
Now that we've covered some basic stats we can really get into the meat and potatoes. The average cost of gym membership around the Boston area is roughly $30-60 a month with a low of $10, high of around $110 (kind of ridiculous). That being said, the average cost of a gym membership in the area per year is in the $360-$720 range ($540 average). Now, to me, the $540 a year is definitely worth it. I become a grumpy, unmotivated, unpleasant person if I have missed the gym a couple days in a row. To some the benefits of working out are well known, but the costs are just not possible to maintain without help. My health insurance give me $150 a year for gym memberships which seems pretty average. $150 of $540 is ~25% of the cost of going to the gym.
(Refer to the statistics above) Don't you think that HICs can afford the extra $390 bucks when they're willing to pay out $5900 a year if I were to get DM? For $5900 I could get 11 years of gym memberships! I think more people would go to the gym if their HICs would cover the total cost, and HICs would give more money if people could prove that they were actually using the gym (which is pretty easy to do).
If I got DM at 45 and lived until I was 75 that is $177000 my HIC would probably pay for me!! Enough to pay for over 325 years of gym memberships.
Remember 6th grade math? Let's review.
225million is the population in USA aged 18+ X $540 for gym memberships = 121,000,000,000
139,000,000,000 - 121,000,000,000 = $18,000,000,000/5900 = 3,050,847 people able to still be treated for diabetes. Currently 57 million people have pre-diabetes! The CDC says lifestyle modification can reduce your chances of getting DM by 60%. If all these people got DM it would cost HI $420 billion to treat, plus all the people who already have DM, but if only 40% get it, it will only cost ~$160 billion more. HICs will save $250 billion. Talk about a stimulus plan.
Sure, there are a lot of factors that go into this scenario, but the government and HICs have the resources to figure out the statistics. It will definitely cost HICs money up front to reduce the number of consumers with DM, but their savings in the long run (10-20 years) will be gigantic! I mean I did some pretty basic math with my laptop calculator and seemed to be able to make some sense of it. HICs (Medicare included) are seemingly taking their chances with our futures, to save a couple bucks right now. Okay, a recession may not be the best time for HI companies to take this preventative approach towards DM. However, there are other less prevalent but devastating conditions, such as senior citizen falls, that may warrant a preventative approach.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that the HICs and the government have gone over these numbers and figured out why it would cost more to provide preventative medicine instead of retroactive care. As far as I know there are studies out there that actually state this as fact. I'm not saying that every citizen needs to get blood sugar tests, and all the other work ups that would add up to being more expensive than the current methods of care, but regardless of risk level, I do think that HICs need to provide a larger incentive to those who are taking preventative measures into their own hands, BUT, people need to provide their attendence records from their gyms to get these discounts(which is very easy)! That's pretty much the point of this post. HICs and the government cannot be held completely responsible for how we take care of OUR bodies.
In this time when health care is apparently being reformed, the HICs need to figure out how to lower costs as much as they can. They need to think of dishing out some money to help us individuals prevent future DM as an INVESTMENT, not as a loss to their bottom line. Because to Americans, the ultimate health care bottom line just happens to be a flat line.
Statistics can be found at:
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2007.pdf
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/cost-of-diabetes-in-us.jsp
It is estimated that 23.6 million Americans have Diabetes Mellitus (DM)
There were 1.5 million NEW cases of DM in 2007 in 18-70 year-olds (this age range is relevant for a future equation)
It cost $174 billion to treat DM in 2007 -For this post I'll estimate that 80% was paid for by health insurance companies (HIC) ~ $139billion
HIC pay $5900 to treat a person EACH year with DM.
There are 57 million people in the USA with Pre-diabetes
Most Type 2 DM is preventable! <--This is definitely a fact!
Now that we've covered some basic stats we can really get into the meat and potatoes. The average cost of gym membership around the Boston area is roughly $30-60 a month with a low of $10, high of around $110 (kind of ridiculous). That being said, the average cost of a gym membership in the area per year is in the $360-$720 range ($540 average). Now, to me, the $540 a year is definitely worth it. I become a grumpy, unmotivated, unpleasant person if I have missed the gym a couple days in a row. To some the benefits of working out are well known, but the costs are just not possible to maintain without help. My health insurance give me $150 a year for gym memberships which seems pretty average. $150 of $540 is ~25% of the cost of going to the gym.
(Refer to the statistics above) Don't you think that HICs can afford the extra $390 bucks when they're willing to pay out $5900 a year if I were to get DM? For $5900 I could get 11 years of gym memberships! I think more people would go to the gym if their HICs would cover the total cost, and HICs would give more money if people could prove that they were actually using the gym (which is pretty easy to do).
If I got DM at 45 and lived until I was 75 that is $177000 my HIC would probably pay for me!! Enough to pay for over 325 years of gym memberships.
Remember 6th grade math? Let's review.
225million is the population in USA aged 18+ X $540 for gym memberships = 121,000,000,000
139,000,000,000 - 121,000,000,000 = $18,000,000,000/5900 = 3,050,847 people able to still be treated for diabetes. Currently 57 million people have pre-diabetes! The CDC says lifestyle modification can reduce your chances of getting DM by 60%. If all these people got DM it would cost HI $420 billion to treat, plus all the people who already have DM, but if only 40% get it, it will only cost ~$160 billion more. HICs will save $250 billion. Talk about a stimulus plan.
Sure, there are a lot of factors that go into this scenario, but the government and HICs have the resources to figure out the statistics. It will definitely cost HICs money up front to reduce the number of consumers with DM, but their savings in the long run (10-20 years) will be gigantic! I mean I did some pretty basic math with my laptop calculator and seemed to be able to make some sense of it. HICs (Medicare included) are seemingly taking their chances with our futures, to save a couple bucks right now. Okay, a recession may not be the best time for HI companies to take this preventative approach towards DM. However, there are other less prevalent but devastating conditions, such as senior citizen falls, that may warrant a preventative approach.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that the HICs and the government have gone over these numbers and figured out why it would cost more to provide preventative medicine instead of retroactive care. As far as I know there are studies out there that actually state this as fact. I'm not saying that every citizen needs to get blood sugar tests, and all the other work ups that would add up to being more expensive than the current methods of care, but regardless of risk level, I do think that HICs need to provide a larger incentive to those who are taking preventative measures into their own hands, BUT, people need to provide their attendence records from their gyms to get these discounts(which is very easy)! That's pretty much the point of this post. HICs and the government cannot be held completely responsible for how we take care of OUR bodies.
In this time when health care is apparently being reformed, the HICs need to figure out how to lower costs as much as they can. They need to think of dishing out some money to help us individuals prevent future DM as an INVESTMENT, not as a loss to their bottom line. Because to Americans, the ultimate health care bottom line just happens to be a flat line.
Statistics can be found at:
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2007.pdf
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/cost-of-diabetes-in-us.jsp
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Prevention+Plus' History
P+P started as an idea for a physical therapy business over 2 years ago while a friend and myself were bored one day while finishing up finals at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. When push came to shove, the reality of starting a business so shortly out of school had to be put on the back burner. However, my passion for preventative physical therapy and sports medicine has not diminished. I still feel a need to educate the public about the benefits of preventative care and training methods. If you have any questions or issues you would like addressed regarding physical therapy or general health care please feel free to e-mail me at mikescott.dpt@gmail.com.
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