Investing in Your Health

by Stephanie Struyck Elgin

According to the publication of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Public Health, approximately 40% of all deaths in the United States are linked to smoking, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, alcohol abuse and other drug uses.  In fact, from 1997 to 2002, adult obesity increased by 5%, and 25% of boys and 18% of girls in grades 5, 7 and 9 who attended public schools were considered overweight.  While adult cigarette smoking decreased from 18% in 1999 to 16% in 2002, there are still over one million adult smokers in Los Angeles County alone.  In 2002/2003, nearly 21.6% of adults reported their health to be fair to poor, and according to the L.A. County Department of Health Services, an estimated 398,000 children have special health care needs and 1,298,000 adults are considered disabled.  Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, to name a few, account for over 80% of premature death and disability in Los Angeles County, many which are preventable.  Infectious diseases like tuberculosis and AIDS are also highly preventable.  
What can we do to improve our health and well-being?  
As defined by the World Health Organization, health is not just the absence of disease or infirmity, but includes physical, mental and social well-being. Being healthy also includes being able to function successfully when our environment changes, or circumstances change as we age.  Our interest in our health should be high as it determines our future health and well-being.  
In business, we invest, so why not invest in our health as well?  According to the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services Public Health, investments in prevention during the last century have accounted for 25 to 30 years gained in average life expectancy in the United States.  Improvements in preventative measures such as vaccines to protect children from infectious diseases, safer and healthier foods, clean drinking water and more have saved lives.  
Healthy People provides a science-based 10-year national objective for promoting health and preventing disease. Currently, Healthy People 2010 is leading the way to achieve increased quality and years of healthy life.  In some areas of Los Angeles County, the overall age-adjusted mortality rate is lower than the national rate, and Los Angeles County is exceeding Healthy People 2010 goals in certain areas such as children’s exposure to tobacco smoke in the home, teen smoking and death rate for certain cancers. While we are exceeding expectation in some areas, a high rate of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and sexually transmitted diseases still fall short of these goals.  
It is evident that investing in strategies to improve our health and help prevent disease and disability yield payoffs, whether it is at school, the workplace or in the community.  Devotion to improving our health generates a high return on our “collective investment”.  Many community-based and health care provider interventions have been proven to reduce health risk behaviors while increasing health-promoting behaviors.  To protect your health, prevent disease and promote health and well-being, let the following pages of advertisement profiles guide you.