If you are like me you like me you probably subscribe to more than one email newsletter so you get different perspectives on topics that interest you. Nutrition is such an important part of fitness (you can’t run a performance vehicle on cheap fuel) so I subscribe to two nutrition newsletters, Nutrition Impact by Glenn Cardwell and Food Bytes by Julie Meek. Both are excellent and will make you think about how, what and why you eat.
In Glenn’s latest newsletter he talks about a long term diet study that followed participants on different diets for two years. In summary, what the researchers found was that the average weight loss was about three kilograms over the two years. Not much really, given the enormity of the obesity problem around the world.
At the end of his report on this study Glenn quotes Professor Martijn Katan who states that “We do not need another diet trial, we need a change in paradigm.”
I couldn’t agree more and I think it applies just much to our health system as to weight loss (the two are very much related). Imagine if we changed the focus of the health system from ‘fixing’ people when they get sick to helping them perform better; if we rewarded health professionals for having the fittest patients who used the least medical and hospital resources; if health professionals were paid more for preventive programs; if individuals were rewarded for being fitter and healthier.
I know these comments make it sound simple to fix the huge mess our health system is in. Sometimes the simple suggestion is what is needed. I don’t believe we will ever ‘fix’ the health system with more hospitals and more expensive medical tests. The real answer to the health system bottle-neck is to reduce demand for medical and hospital services. Let’s face it. No one really wants to go to hospital.
We are continually being told that with an ageing population our current health system won’t be able to keep up with demand. All the effort seems to be about increasing the supply of health services to meet the demand. Maybe we should be focusing on reducing demand. We also hear that if health expenditure continues to increase at its current rate it will bankrupt the economy. Another financial crisis! Imagine if the government threw as much money at preventive health initiatives as it has at the looming recession. We wouldn’t need many of the hospitals they keep talking about.
This sounds very idealistic, but major changes in thinking often start with an idealistic viewpoint.
What can you do? Do everything you can to stay as fit and healthy as possible. Keep reading these newsletters for advice and inspiration and subscribe to newsletters like Glenn’s and Julie’s to learn about eating and nutrition. Encourage others to do the same.
Be a role model to the people in your life, especially your family.
