“The first wealth is health.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
When I hear it said that the United States is among the wealthiest of nations, I can’t help but think: “At what cost?” This wealth gives us the “best” and most expensive health care in the world, but health care is not necessarily health. We can buy treatment for what ails us (though some will argue that this is not true for everyone), but health is not something that is affordable or unaffordable. Health is more valuable and more necessary than health care.
There is certainly disease that is out of the control of the individual. Much of the disease that plagues us, however, is avoidable. Inactivity and obesity are modifiable risk factors. They are risk factors that can be affected at the individual level, but, moreover, at the societal level.
A society that is not healthy is not wealthy. Likewise, a society that is wealthy and does not attend to the health of its people is foolish.
I dwell a lot on the obesity crisis (often to the criticism of others), but never with an intent to sham. Rather, my intent is to inform and to help. Hopefully, I can somehow affect the policy makers.
COVID-19 should be an be awakening the powers-at-be to the crisis of obesity. Sadly, they are focused on superficial treatments—on combating a virus (that rightfully needs to be fought) without considering the more underlying issues (i.e., obesity, inactivity—and, of course, the social disparities that underscore these issues). They ignore the impact that obesity and corresponding comorbidities have on the virus. They ignore the tremendous cost of obesity and inactivity on health care. Prevention is the best medicine. Exercise is medicine.
Emerson wisely wrote that “the first wealth is health.” Unfortunately, we are treating health like cryptocurrency rather than the gold standard. I fear the cost will be too high before we realize the path we are on.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!