News Stories in Perspective

Who's in Control of Your Health?

The majority of Americans believe they control their own health, according to a recent Zogby/UPI national poll. However, a much smaller proportion of Americans are actually taking control of their health by making lifestyle choices that can lower risk of the major adult chronic diseases. Unhealthy lifestyle choices not only affect each individual, but also carry repercussions for increasing health care costs, according to a 2007 government report.

In the Zogby/UPI poll, over 10,000 adults were asked to rate how much control they personally exert over their own health on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 representing “total control.” Sixty-seven percent rated their control at 4 or 5.

According to several theories about health-related behavior, feeling in control of one’s own health should translate into the motivation to establish a healthy lifestyle. These theories say those who feel in control of their own health are more likely to focus on making healthy behavior changes than people who feel less in control of their health. (Those who assigned themselves low scores likely did so because they believe that factors such as luck or input from doctors and family members have a greater impact on their personal health than they do themselves.)

Yet only a minority of Americans is actually embracing three major categories of behaviors balanced food choices, regular physical activity and tobacco avoidance linked with prevention of our most common chronic diseases. Less than a third of U.S. adults eat the recommended minimum of five fruit and vegetable servings a day and only 30 percent are active for even 30 minutes five days a week. (Such decisions may help explain why only 34 percent of adults are at a healthy weight.) The proportion of non-smokers has increased, but 21 percent of Americans still smoke.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of these unhealthy behaviors will lead to a 25 percent increase in health care spending by the year 2030, unless we better improve and preserve the health of older adults. That’s because the number of people over age 65 will more than double in less than 25 years. Health care costs of someone over age 65 are reportedly three to five times the costs of someone younger. Currently, 80 percent of those 65 and older have at least one chronic condition, including heart disease or diabetes, and 50 percent have two or more such conditions. Unless we help people establish healthier lifestyles now, growth in the senior citizen population will raise health care costs substantially.

The CDC report calls for increasing the number of people who are physically active, manage their weight and eat a balanced diet. The report also stresses the need to boost the number of seniors who get vaccinated against flu and pneumonia and get screened for colon cancer, breast cancer and blood cholesterol. Society is called to help, too, by supporting active lifestyles. For example, local communities can increase the number of sidewalks and ensure walkers’ safety from traffic and crime.

A recent National Institutes of Health report on the health of baby boomers, based on a nationwide survey of more than 20,000 Americans, adds emphasis to the need for change. Baby boomers aged 54 to 59 reported more pain, health problems and difficulty walking and climbing stairs than seniors aged 66 to 71 reported when they were 51 to 56 years old. Experts warn that these findings may represent an increase in disability, perhaps tied to increased obesity and the diseases that go with it.

Research has been emphasizing the power of healthy lifestyles to prevent major health problems for more than 25 years. Perhaps the recent Zogby/UPI poll shows that we’ve turned the corner on Americans seeing the impact they can have on their health. Now, more people need to move from awareness to action.