How We Live is How We Die

By the time we die, all of us will have one or more diseases. Disease is how we die. Indeed, Americans are dying from premature illness in ever-greater numbers.

The primary causes: ignorance and denial of hidden health issues.

Welcome to the world of budding boomer awareness! Given all the changes in our current world, two outcomes are still inevitable – higher taxes (to fund the health care system that America’s unhealthy trend will require) and premature death (for an aging population in deep denial).

Among U.S. adults aged 40–79, 69.0% used one or more prescription drugs and 22.4% used five or more.

The most important question facing politicians and the health care industry is how long can we dismiss these “facts of life”… or more accurately, facts of death.

How We Die

It’s not “if”, but “when” will each of us contract our first irreversible medical condition. By the time we feel the pain that signals serious organic disease, it is often too late. I see it every day – individuals who are overweight, out of shape, taking medications – still announcing to the world they are healthy. There’s a name for this condition… D-E-N-I-A-L! Denial is how we die.

Denial

Denial is a strange phenomenon, and like all delusions, denial’s aftermath is always painful… and usually shocking. Someone once wrote,

“Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Those of us who do not hear and heed the music of our bodies will stop dancing long before those who do.

While talking recently with an engaging friend of mine, he posed a probing question:

“Is it true, that if we know our genetics, we can predict our death date?”

The answer is somewhat complicated. Yet, if we can measure both our genetic predispositions and measure the impact of our lifestyle choices, it is true that we CAN reasonably predict our death date. Go online and google “life predictor” and fill in the numbers!

Lifestyle Choices

Poor lifestyle choices will hasten our deaths.

Science now suggests that lifestyle is the number one killer known to man. We read that heart disease, cancer, and prescription drugs are the biggest killers in the United States, yet these death threats are all by-products of lifestyle choices – primarily poor nutrition and lack of exercise. Our lifestyle determines how we die.

Obesity is the most significant contributor to increased health problems.

From even a corporate perspective, there’s a bottom line benefit connected to health issues. Improving company health and fitness levels can strategically boost performance, thus trimming both the waistline and expenses in the workplace. A magazine article stated,

“Currently 20% of Americans have high blood pressure, 105 million Americans have high cholesterol, and there are 800 thousand new cases of adult-onset diabetes a year, plus 65% of Americans are overweight or obese.”

These are shocking numbers. The article continues,

“Obesity is an epidemic in our country and requires dramatic attention be given its adverse effects. Statistics show obese individuals have 30-50% more chronic health issues versus those who smoke and drink heavily. More than smoking or drinking, obesity is now considered the most significant contributor to increased health problems and rising health care costs in the U. S.”

The article proposed that companies begin to manage their executives’ and employees’ personal health. You can bet, in our current economic environment, if individuals don’t manage their own health, the insurance companies will.