The Sound Bite:

Individual responsibility has nothing to do with health costs issues facing our nation.

Fact or Fiction?

Fiction. People who don’t exercise, who are overweight, who smoke, or who drink to excess are more likely to get sick and to develop chronic ailments that will require increasingly expensive medical care. 

Here is advice from the American Heart Association: “High blood pressure is the leading cause of stroke and death rates due to stroke are nearly 45%. Having excess weight or being physically inactive can both lead to high blood pressure, so help to minimize your risk of stroke by maintaining a healthy weight through eating well and being regularly physically active. The American Heart Association recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week. Make a goal of getting 30 minutes of physical activity, 5 times a week to keep your body moving.”

But there is a contrary point of view. Some health researchers say that people who don’t take good care of themselves die sooner, and save the system more money in the long run. A Dutch study reported in the New York Times said that obese people can contribute to the savings because they die sooner than thin and healthy people.

“The researchers found that from age 20 to 56, obese people racked up the most expensive health costs,” The New York Times reported. “But because both the smokers and the obese people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run. On average, healthy people lived 84 years. Smokers lived about 77 years and obese people lived about 80 years. Smokers and obese people tended to have more heart disease than the healthy people.” Thin and healthy people “cost the most, about $417,000, from age 20 on,” the story said. The cost of care for obese people was $371,000, and for smokers, about $326,000. 

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