fitfamily360 blog

What if staying healthy was a means of earning money or reducing taxes? Would this help reduce the cost of maintaining health and rising risks of chronic illnesses? What if this could drastically reduce your healthcare premiums? Would you even be interested in participating in a program that offered this option? It sounds at first glance a bit improbable ,but let's take a closer examination . Companies have incentive in the marketing of medical devices and drugs with a large profit margin. The market has created an incentive to improve health for corporations by "selling" the idea you will be healthier with their products . The same idea is with hospitals and managed care corporations. Currently our drive to maintain health is based on this corporate model that health can be maintained by "buying" it from the market(drug companies, medical device companies, hospitals and insurance companies). But, is this the only model? What if there was the same incentive ...

It is being buzzed around again that there is a major shortage of doctors and the over-utilization of emergency rooms will only sky rocket as a result. Why is this continuing to happen in the coutnry that "brags" about having the best health in the world ? The question still remains is what's the use in having the best medical tech and medicines if either not enough can afford it or worse if thier are not enough professionals to provide it. CNN reported that the American Association of Medical Colleges has predicted this trend will worsen. But, the AMA nor U.S. HHS have figured out why is this the case and there appears to be no current plans to combat it( In actuality, the World Health Organization has ranked the United States health system at # 37 of developed countries). As a growing population of baby boomers live longer with more chronic illnesses that are usually addressed by generalist(family practitioners, general practitioners, internist, gynecologist) , simult...

In an election year, especially a presidential one, there is always the rumor of an "October Surprise" by either political party to assume the office. But, mother nature may have the last laugh with hurricane Sandy looming offshore and already affecting land . The storm is predicted to have an 800 mile expanse. The storm is estimated to be a "perfect storm" that will dump gallons of water on land with over 10 inches in some places along with whipping winds. With there being a full moon the tide will rise over 8-10 feet. The lunar effect will pontentiate the surge of the dual counter spinning arms. But, that will not be the end of it. The storm will probably last for a week stalling out in the Ohio Valley on its way out to Canada. But, the worst is still to come. A snow storm dumping a lot of snow may occur after the tropical effect. What may happen is electrical power shut downs, airline cancellations, local metropolitan services being closed, stores and super mark...

Ninety-Percent of voters in either the Republican or Democratic parties have already made up their minds as to whom they are going to vote for. Most major polls show that both candidates are "neck and neck" including the "swing" states. However, 90 million Americans are predicted NOT to cast any vote on election day at all. Is the electorate missing something? Perhaps something big and very important. It's the fact that there is a significant Third Party contingency that few of us have ever heard about. Why is this under-rated 3rd party so important even though, those individual candidates may not have a major impact themselves. Call it the "Ralph Nader effect", when Al Gore lost to George W. Bush. It was believed because of the extreme narrow margin of loss that Ralph Nader's name on the ballot took away votes from Gore giving Goeorge Bush the edge. If that doesn't jar your head, go back to Ross Perot who as a "populist" candidat...

Medical doctors , especially those who practice and promote prevention in health are perhaps the foremost experts in implementing healthcare policy. Physicians are the primary markers of an efficient system. But, new studies indicate doctors may be changing careers due to the stress on being able to deliver efficient medicine from forces that are driving the cost of healthcare. These forces include the rising rates of 3rd party participation , high rate of drugs, higher costs of medical procedures and instruments, None of these are costs controlled directly by physicians. The controllers of these costs are major corporations. However, clinicians who must make cost effective decisions on a daily basis are not a large part of the heakth policy makers of national policy. When interviewed most medical doctors will tell you they support a " public option" or "medicare for all" system to promote the efficiency of providing healthcare and controlling costs. These sys...

Today, the newspaper USA Today announced that about 300 retired military generals have deemed chilhood obesity and overweight a "national security" matter. This was based on a report that the U.S. military was having difficulty finding healthy recruits whose status allowed them to enlist. The group known as Mission: Readiness, show how high calorie, junk foods and those with empty calories are affecting the military's ability of finding qualified enlistment. Fewer and fewer healthy youth are dwindling as perspective candidates in the armed forces. This echoes what the First Lady has emphasized in recent interviews. The CDC and NIH have both published data that reveal the doubling in American pediatric obesity since the 1980s. Thirty percent of American youth are obese and are now affected with secondary diseases usually seen in obese adults such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and liver disease. Youth learn early from television commercials...

In the Fit Family series we've talked primarily about 2 major waves that have "slammed" the healthcare system: The greatly out-of-control increased cost of healthcare and the rapidly rising rate of chronic and acute disease due to lifestyles brought on by the epidemic of obesity. But, now the realization by well read and frustrated physicians brings the possibility of practitioners leaving their medical practices en masse. This is the third tsunami wave that will potentially break the full spectrum of any functioning healthcare system. No matter how much technology, hospitals , clinics or expensive health plans exists; if physicians do not agree with it or refuse to go along with it there is safe or effective system. Several studies support the possibility that 46% to 50 % of medical doctors will leave medical practice beginning in 2013. The AMA(American Medical Association) Masterfile Practice Self Reporting by physicians from 1998 to 2001 measuring physician intent...

Most medical doctors will tell you that if they were ever asked about socialized medicine in their medical shool interviews and spoke in favor of it; they probably wouldn't have remained on the medical schools candidacy list. It seems highly ironic that in the hallowed halls of healing where it is practiced to " do no harm" and preached not to expect compensation due to your profession that to discuss free and open access to healthcare for all is still considered somewhat taboo. It is still even rarely discussed in formal platforms amongst peers in medical school academics to discuss options based on their science and personal expereinces about the topic . One would think that it surely must be daily and hotly debated in schools of public health(a master's level degree), but one would also be wrong. But, with this "self-censorship" amongst the medical profession there are still several organizations popping up that wish to openly debate the possible opti...

Perhaps many of us already know what the impact healthcare dollars may affect our general economy. But, the confluency of healthcare is often overlooked or numerous pieces ot it are not put together in the overall puzzle. As we examine healthcare the single puzzle appears as an illusion, but we begin to see the multiple pieces involving all our nation's economy. The nation is currently facing the shifting demographics in a new changing America where the "Baby Boomer" population is becoming the fastest growing sub-population and they are living a lot longer. This will have a major impact on a shrinking labor force that can assure witholdings for those in their later years.It also means that a larger septugenerian or octogenerian will live longer with more chronic illnesses which will also impact greater cost of healthcare and the general cost of living. The U.S. population has gone from 280,000,000 to 321,000,000 in the last decade with a growing migrant population that wi...

The United States Preventive Services Task Force(USPSTF/the Task Force) is a little known public healthy policy entity rarely heard of outside the health industry. But, it has taken to being perhaps the most influential guideline setter for practitioners and cancer screeners alike. But, what has made the elite group so controversial in the last 3 years are its sweeping cancer screening recommendations that have been rocking the medical practitioner and health consumer world , radically. Where most medical practitioners have observed cancer screening recommendations provided by professional specialty organizations and biomedical institutions such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology(ACOG), the American Medical Association(AMA), National Institutes of Health(NIH), or American Cancer Society(ACS) ; the U.S. Health and Human Services has given the nod to the "task force" to become the premiere authority to set all guidelines for all specialties. Many of the ...

Americans consume on average 150 pounds of sugar annually and 78 two liter bottles of soft drinks per year. These astonishing statistics are adding up rapidly contributing to obesity . But a new type of "hyper-war" has begun with childhood obesity featuring chronic diseases "normally" encountered at adulthood .Unfortunately we are losing these numerous battles against what will be an epidemic of cosmic proportions. Enter- Mayor Bloomberg of New York City -who issued a ban on drinks larger than 16 ounces in order to combat the affects it has particularly on childhood obesity, however, along with this a furor has begun by many in the beverage industry citing "science" that states soft drinks are actually "healthy" or have no negative side effects.Susan Neely a member of the American Beverage Association levelled charges of recklnesses by the mayor. That wasn't all soft drink companies such as Coca-Cola and "fast food" restaurants ...

First Lady Michelle Obama's campaign against obesity was launched with awesome ferocity against body fat. Her battle is a rather impressive plan that has included her children's theme called "Lets Move" to end childhod obesity is a concept right on target. She has gotten large food chains to sell more low fat, low calorie and low salt items with better labeling. Since that has happened fast food restaurants like McDonald's have taken up the pledge towards reducing high fat, super-sized foods and drinks regularly sold to young consumers . Coca Cola along with Pepsi have undergone a new policy to reduce sugars in their soft drinks as well. By 2011 the First Lady along with the USDA helped create a newer more accurate modern foods model. Also , just now , Disney has jumped on board with Mrs. Obama by not endorsing particularly unhealthy snack prducts with its Disney theme characters in advertisements to kids during peak "kiddy tv" hours as often.Most o...

This past week the CDC announced that 40 percent of Americans will be obese in the next few years and that ten percent will be servely obese. Other studies show that those remaining fifty percent will be some variation of overweight. This is incredible that a whole nation will be "technically" unhealthy. This will either be a medical insurance underwriters paradise or the biggest health tsunami that will crash the system beyond years of repair. This is because healthy behavioral lifestyle habits(patterns) are not mandated in our daily life. Not even physical fitness is mandated in the majority of grade schools today and look where it has lead us, so, how would this same response of non-mandated health effect a nation? This is just the beginning of a ground swell of an exponential number of health problems that will begin to ensue from obesity including : heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes, liver disease, respiratory disease(restrictive, obstr...

Perhaps the greatest evidence for implementing your own healthy lifestyle are not that 2 billion people in the world are obese or overweight, or that 200 million Americans are either obese or overweight(CDC), or that the medical cost of obesity is nearing or is over 350 Billion dollars annually(Society of Actuaries). But, the latest study of obesity prevention out of England(The Telegraph) show that pregnant women are now being given an oral hypoglycemic agent to reduce the weight of their large unborn babies to prevent them from becoming overweight. The study's effort is to help reduce cesarian sections. The idea of this study has already sent shock waves throughout Britain as to the effectiveness and safety of this method. Actually,no studies show how safe this drug is in this young population. Metformin is one of the numerous older oral hypoglycemic agents originally used to prevent diabetes.No one knows what its effects will be on unborn children. But, clearly eager health o...