Dip into fountain of youth by achieving 3 health goals [Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)]

Those of us in the health insurance industry enjoy a unique perspective on what keeps people healthy, or makes them unhealthy. Many things affect health, but three "big ones" are more likely than anything to ensure that we live long, healthy lives.

What are the Big Three?

1. Abstaining from tobacco use.

2. Eating healthful foods in moderate amounts.

3. Being physically active.

If everyone did these three things, our state and nation - and your wallet - would not be facing exploding health care costs.

More important, we would not only live longer, we'd be in shape to enjoy life more.

Taken together, these three behaviors are a veritable fountain of youth.

Let's look at each of the three "streams" that nourish this fountain of youth.

AVOIDING TOBACCO

On average, tobacco will kill one out of every five people you know or love. Cigarettes alone kill some 400,000 people every year in the United States - 5 million worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, avoiding tobacco is "the single most preventable cause of death."

"Up to half of the world's more than 1 billion smokers will die prematurely of a tobacco-related disease," WHO says. What diseases? Lung cancer, heart attack, stroke and cancer of - among other body parts you don't want to lose - the mouth, nose, throat, stomach, kidney, uterus, ovaries and colon.

That's the bad news.

Is there any good news? You bet.

According to the website www.QuitSmokingSupport.com, when you snuff out that last cigarette, within 24 hours your chance of a heart attack begins going down. Within 48 hours your senses of smell and taste start recovering, and in two to 12 weeks walking gets easier. In one to nine months coughing decreases, in a year the risk of heart attack drops in half, in 10 years the lung cancer death rate approximates nonsmokers', and in 15 years heart attack risk is the same as a nonsmoker's.

EATING HEALTHY / FENDING OFF OBESITY

Being significantly overweight is another killer. Obesity leads to high blood pressure ("the silent killer"), adult-onset (type 2) diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and breast, colon and prostate cancer, among other conditions we'd all like to avoid. Unfortunately, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts it, America's obesity rate is "soaring." Roughly 30 percent of U.S. adults are obese. Still more alarming: Since 1980, "overweight rates have doubled among children and tripled among adolescents." As a result, type 2 diabetes now afflicts children.

If disease and death are not enough to worry about, consider that people suffering from obesity average $1,500 a year more in medical expenses than those of normal weight.

How can people steer clear of the obesity plague?

Avoid overindulgence in fatty, sugary foods. Eat more fruits and vegetables, increase your intake of fiber, drink plenty of fluids and practice portion control.

And ... get active!

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Activity can save your life. According to WHO, physical inactivity is the "fourth leading risk factor for global mortality." It leads to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, and breast and colon cancer, among other conditions. It causes some 3.2 million deaths a year.

The CDC adds that physical activity strengthens not just muscles, but bones.

If exercise is not your cup of tea, don't worry. Physical activity encompasses far more than just repetitive exercises.

It simply means moving more. Walking or bicycling instead of driving, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

So drink from the fountain of youth: Avoid tobacco, eat healthfully and start moving more.

---

John Henry Felix is chairman, president and CEO of HMAA. Health Scene features information and advice from Hawaii health care professionals.

Credit: John Henry Felix