Our lousy ROI in healthcare & the 6F's solution!

2-13-13: I love infographics, they make things just stand right out. Here's an interesting one on how obesity is killing our country and how we have such a lousy ROI.

Weight of the Nation 2013 infographic

Why do we have such a lousy ROI? Because 75% of our $2.5 TRILLION dollar healthcare cost is due to lifestyle-related diseases...and yet, our current medical model is based on PILLS AND SURGERY. You can't screw a screw effectively with a hammer...and yet, that's what we're trying to do!

The solution? We need a healthcare/medical system that focuses on the 6 F's*:

1. Fingers
2. Feet
3. Fork
4. Fight-or-Flight
5. Fumigation
6. Fatigue

Can you figure out what those 6 F's stand for? Fingers represents smoking--we have to keep helping people become non-smokers. Feet represent physical activity--not just formal exercise, but being more physically active throughout the day (every American needs to get at least 10,000 steps a day!!!). Fork represents what we eat, eating healthier, etc. Fight-or-Flight represents stress management (connected with 70% of the admits to a PCP). And the last one, Fumigation, represents toxins, pesticides, GMO, artificial stuff in our food supply, etc. This is an area I'm just learning more about. Finally, Fatigue represents sleep, or lack of sleep. We think that as we get older, we need less of it, but given our harried and busy lifestyle for most as we age, we still need the restorative, regenerative sleep to compensate for that. Not getting this leads to chronic inflammation (controlled inflammation) and interference with appetite control in the brain. This is why we see studies connecting lack of sleep with weight gain.

If we can empower Americans to focus on these 6F's and do the best they can, THEN we will be impacting and making a difference on that 75% bill...and we can start lowering that $2.5T debt.

Fortunately, in my work as as preventive care specialist at Beaver Medical Group, I get to focus on these 5 F's every day. Not only that, all of our health education programs and services are FREE to the public as well as our patients!!! So if you live in the Inland Empire, there's no excuse about getting FREE help in any of these 6 F's. ;-)

While this blog is devoted to the "Feet", all the 6 F's are important for PA Evangelists. So what are YOU doing about the 6F's in your life???

ps. If you want to learn more about how to do something about these 6 F's as as career, then check out doctorate of preventive care program at Loma Linda University, one of the only doctorates of it's kind in the world to focus on the 6F's!

*Credit to Dr. David Katz for the first 3 F's. Heard him present this at a conf. a while back.