The Simple Secrets to Better Health

November 2006 - Costs. Costs? Costs!

Costs.
On October 5, 2006, The Vancouver Sun ran a headline article titled “UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLES COST B.C. $1.8B A YEAR”.

Costs?
We might all agree with this statement, but how did they measure it? The sub-title starts to give us a clue – “Smoking, excess weight and inactivity add up, reports says”. Here are some quotes from the article.
“The B.C. government spends more than twice as much in medical costs – as much as $1.8 billion annually – on people who are inactive, overweight and smoke than it does on those who exercise, don’t smoke and aren’t overweight, according to preliminary results in a provincial report release Wednesday.
Published in the annual provincial health officer’s report, the analysis was conducted on a sample of nearly 7,700 B.C. adults over the age of 25. It found that the average per capita health care cost for those with no risk factors was $1,003, compared to $2,086 per capita for those with tree risk factors, including smoking, being overweight/obese, and physically inactive, The medical costs included doctor’s visits, hospitalization and prescription drugs. The report estimated that people who have such risk factors cost the health care system an extra $1.8 billion annually.”

Costs!
Human nature is such that everyone likes to get their fair share of government spending. According to the article, here is how some people get more than their fair share –
“An average healthy person gets $1,003 in medical expenses. Add one risk factor – smoking – and the price tag is $1,337. Two factors – inactivity and smoking – drive the cost up to $1,924. Add the third risk factor of obese/overweight to smoking and inactivity escalates the cost to $2,038”.
Now consider the real price these folks pay for getting twice their fair share of costs. They pay with increased risk of periodontal disease, which is why dentists take an interest in these risk factors. They also pay with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and other lifestyle diseases that cause aches, pains and reduce the quality of life as they age.

The introductory chapter of The Simple Secrets to Better Health identifies the main motivating factor in making healthy changes – a person must become dissatisfied with where they are now. Click here to read it.
The third chapter focuses on where responsibility lies. We are each responsible for our own health. Click here to read it.

Proceed to the next update on goal setting Dec '06
Here is the link to all the chapters and monthlty updates - www.dentalhealth.ca/ss2/ss2 index.htm

Yours for dental wellness,
Ken Southward D.D.S.