| Healthy lifestyles can go a long way toward | | | | ExerciseThe Obesity-Cancer LinkResearchers |
| solving today's healthcare crisis. These | | | | have found 37 percent more cancer among obese |
| facts and figures give some clues as to where | | | | women and 25 percent more among obese men, |
| we can make some changes to prevent disease | | | | compared to people of healthy weight. Death |
| and cut healthcare costs.One Dollar Saves | | | | rates for all cancers are 62 percent higher |
| ThreeThe federal government doesn't keep | | | | among obese women and 52 percent higher among |
| track of statistics on how wellness programs | | | | obese men. Among obese women, risks for |
| can impact healthcare costs but some | | | | specific cancers increase as follows: breast |
| businesses have found that promoting wellness | | | | 150 percent; uterine 200 to 400 percent; |
| reaps handsome rewards. According to the | | | | kidney 200 to 400 percent; pancreatic 200 |
| Wellness Councils of America, a non-profit | | | | percent; and colon 46 percent. |
| group that promotes healthy lifestyles, | | | | |
| companies can save three dollars on | | | | Source: Mayo Clinic Women's |
| healthcare expenses for every dollar they | | | | HealthSourceWeight Gain ExplainedAmericans' |
| spend on wellness programs that teach | | | | per capita daily calorie consumption |
| employees to lead healthier lives. | | | | increased by roughly 300 calories per person |
| | | | between 1985 and 2000. Grains (mainly refined |
| Source: Wellness Councils of | | | | grains) accounted for 46 percent of the |
| AmericaLifestyle Could Reduce Diabetes by 87 | | | | increase, added fats for 24 percent, added |
| PercentThe combination of losing weight, | | | | sugars for 23 percent, and fruits and |
| moving more, cutting out trans-fats, | | | | vegetables for 8 percent, while meat and |
| saturated fats and excessive alcohol, and | | | | dairy consumption declined by 1 percent. |
| eating more fiber could reduce the incidence | | | | |
| of type 2 diabetes by a staggering 87 | | | | Source: American Heart |
| percent. A modest 5-percent weight loss can | | | | AssociationMultivitamins Could Cut Medicare |
| lower risk significantly. The incidence of | | | | CostsMedicare could save at least 1.6 billion |
| type 2 diabetes increased by 60 percent in | | | | dollars in the next five years by providing |
| the United States between 1990 and 2001. | | | | multivitamins to people over the age of 65. |
| Treatment for diabetes and its complications | | | | Cost savings would result primarily from |
| consumes 10 percent of America's healthcare | | | | fewer admissions to hospitals and nursing |
| dollars. | | | | homes as a result of heart disease and |
| | | | infections such as pneumonia. |
| Sources: British Journal of Nutrition and | | | | |
| American Diabetes AssociationThe Aerobic | | | | Source: Multivitamins and Public Health: |
| CureAerobic exercise alone cured metabolic | | | | Exploring the Evidence ConferenceCalcium and |
| syndrome (sometimes called syndrome X) in 30 | | | | Folic Acid Could Save 15 Billion DollarsA |
| percent of people in the HERITAGE Family | | | | study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement |
| Study in Canada. The syndrome is a | | | | Education Alliance shows that the use of |
| combination of elevated blood pressure, blood | | | | daily calcium supplements could prevent |
| glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and high | | | | 734,000 hip fractures annually, saving 13.9 |
| waist circumference that significantly raises | | | | billion dollars in healthcare costs. Daily |
| the risks of diabetes and heart disease. | | | | use of folic acid supplements could prevent |
| People in the study rode a stationary bike | | | | 600 cases of neural tube birth defects, |
| three times per week for twenty weeks. | | | | saving an additional 1.3 billion dollars. |
| | | | Foods fortified with calcium or folic acid |
| Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and | | | | offer an alternative to supplement pills. |