The two most common excuses people give for not exercising and taking care of their general health are lack of time, and finances. In previous articles, I have addressed the time issue, but I would like to add the following: If you don’t make the time to exercise, you won’t have much time to do anything. Eventually, as we age and don’t make the time to compensate for its effects, we end up with one or more debilitating condition. But what is just as shocking is how much it actually costs us to be out of shape and in an unhealthy state. Many people say they just can’t afford to go to an exercise specialist, or they can’t afford the health club and gym fees. But let’s look at the alternative.

Take a person with heart disease, for example. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death, and multiple medications are often needed to control symptoms and risk factors. In a recent study following 104 people with ischemic heart disease, average monthly medication costs were $104.77 for cardiac medications and $115.54 for non-cardiac medications, for a total of $220.31. In addition, the cost of heart disease and stroke in the United States was $368 billion in 2004, including health care expenditures and lost productivity from disability and death.

If you are an employer, you may want to insist that your employees exercise. In 1995, Nicolaas Pronk, director of HealthPartners’ Center for Health Promotion, surveyed nearly 6,000 HealthPartners members over age 40 about their lifestyle and health status, and then looked at 18 months’ worth of their medical claims. In a report based on that data, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), he compared people with poor habits to those with healthy ones and found that:

Those who engaged in some kind of physical activity at least once a week cost the company 4.7% less than those who are sedentary.
Smokers cost the company 18% more than nonsmokers.
Each unit increase in body mass index (a measure of body fat) raised costs by 1.9%.
Those who suffered from the chronic illnesses that are often the result of unhealthy lifestyles – particularly diabetes and heart disease – were the costliest of all. Diabetics cost 137% more than non-diabetics, and those with heart disease cost 150% more than those without, the study found. 

Obesity and sedentary lifestyle are escalating global epidemics that warrant increased attention by physicians and other health care professionals. These intricately linked conditions are responsible for an enormous burden of chronic disease, impaired physical function and quality of life, at least 300,000 premature deaths, and at least $90 billion in direct health care costs annually in the United States alone. Couple all this with the rising premiums for good comprehensive health insurance and it becomes obvious that it pays to work out and be healthy.

Yes – it CAN be costly to take on a trainer or join a health club, but it’s definitely money well spent. Investing in staying in shape and improving your overall lifestyle habits may, in the long run, be less costly to your health AND to your wallet. 

EXERCISE! It will “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a LIFESTYLE FITNESS COACH with over 14 years of professional experience. He is the co-director of the Jerusalem-based weight loss and stress reduction center Lose It! along with Linda Holtz M.Sc. and is available for private consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at [email protected] 

Check out the Lose It! website at www.loseit.co.il. US Line: 516-568-5027

(Alan Freishtat – YWN)