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Spend Time Now or Spend Time Later
Spend Time Now or Spend Time Later
One of the most common reasons people give me for not starting an exercise program, not enrolling in Wellness Forum classes, or making other important lifestyle changes is they don't have the time. They often tell me that they intend to do these things, and will do them at some later but undetermined time. I guess some folks just expect that the universe will arrange for them to have more time at some point without having to examine their priorities, reorganize their lives, or develop better planning skills.
In my experience people make time for the things they want to make time for. If making diet and lifestyle changes is important enough, people work those activities into their schedules somehow. But the reality is that almost everyone will make time for health care at some point either by scheduling time for health improvement and maintenance now or making time for the treatment of disease later. If you practice unhealthy habits, it is almost inevitable that at some point you will develop health problems. I know few people who will not make time for treatment once those health conditions develop.
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (vol 99 issue 1, January 2007) included the results of a study that examined the time and the monetary value of the time that cancer patients spend on treatment. Robin Yabroff, a National Cancer Institute epidemiologist, led the study, which looked at the records of 763,000 cancer patients covered by Medicare. The researchers determined how much time the patients spent traveling to, waiting for and receiving both in-patient and out-patient care.
The number of hours spent by the average patient was amazing - 368 hours in the first year after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, for example, and 272 hours for lung cancer. This represents the equivalent of between 34 and 46 entire workdays! The monetary value of this time was even more astounding. The researchers assigned a value of $15.23 per hour, which was the average U.S. wage rate in 2002, and determined that the time spent on cancer treatment costs $2.3 billion annually for people in the first year of treatment alone. The calculation does not include days spent disabled from chemotherapy, or recovery from surgery - just the time spent on receiving care. This also does not take into consideration the time family members and friends spend supporting these cancer patients. Last, but not least, and I have written about this for years, all of this time and money is spent with very little benefit generally accruing to patients - cancer treatments are notoriously ineffective at prolonging life.
I firmly believe that everyone will spend a certain amount of time on health care issues over the course of a normal lifespan. However, how that time will be spent can be influenced, in most cases, by the choices an individual makes daily. Spend time today on practicing dietary excellence and optimal habits, or spend time later recovering from the consequences of not doing so.
The next time you find yourself saying things like, "The health food store is too far away," or "I just cannot find time to work out with a trainer" or "When things settle down I'll start eating better" or "Someday I'll get serious about losing this weight" or "I would love to consult a naturopath but my insurance doesn't cover it" think about the health care time and money you'll spend later if you do not do these things now.
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| January 20, 2007, 15:08 |
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