To Your Health

What is Wellness?

“The question is frequently raised whether a medical examination is advisable before commencing an exercise program. Certainly anyone who is doubtful about his state of health should consult a physician. In principle, however, there is less risk in activity than in inactivity. Our opinion is that it is more advisable to pass a careful medical examination if one intends to be sedentary in order to establish whether one's state of health is good enough to stand the inactivity!”

— Per-Olof Astrand and Kaare Rodahl, internationally acclaimed exercise physiologists

By Nancy DiMarco, Ph.D.

Okay — so what do I write for people in my age group? The over 45 and less than 100 set. No doubt you're wondering what to do about nutrition and exercise.

The truth is that wellness is what it is all about. Wellness is an attitude that must be practiced to become a habit — like brushing your teeth at least twice a day.

Proper nutrition and regular physical activity are some of the things you should do on a regular basis —just like brushing your teeth — to get the greatest health benefits.

WHAT IS WELLNESS?

Wellness has been defined as “the constant and deliberate effort to stay healthy and achieve the highest potential for well-being. The concept of wellness incorporates physical fitness, nutrition, cardiovascular risk reduction, health education, cancer prevention, spirituality, stress management, substance abuse control, sexuality, safety, smoking cessation and medical-physical exams.

WHY IS WELLNESS IMPORTANT?

Human beings were created for strenuous physical activity but living in the age we do, physical activity has all but been eliminated in the American lifestyle unless we plan it into our schedule. The most physical activity that many of us get is pushing the grocery cart down the aisle of the local grocery store or opening and closing the refrigerator door.

At the turn of the 20^th century, people in our country were dying of tuberculosis, diphtheria, influenza, polio and diseases of infancy. Most of these diseases have been eliminated through programs of sanitation, immunization and a more thorough understanding of the disease process. Unfortunately, they have been replaced with diseases that seem to parallel our lifestyles, namely cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, emphysema, AIDS, cirrhosis, etc.

The available scientific evidence shows that physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle coupled with poor dietary and lifestyle choices have become serious threats to our health and have significantly increased the deterioration of the human body. Along with high-tech advances that have contributed to our “convenient living,” other factors have influenced our behavior and include excess fatty foods, excess sweets and salt and tobacco use.

Prevention still appears to be the best cure. In fact, research indicates that well over 50 percent of all diseases are self-controlled, and that 64 percent of factors contributing to mortality are caused by: lifestyle factors (48 percent) and environmental factors (18 percent), with 80 percent of all deaths before the age of 65 being preventable.

WHAT IS AN UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE COSTING US?

Health problems associated with obesity, smoking, drug abuse and alcoholism are to a large part completely preventable.

The amount of money spent on diseases associated with obesity, such as heart disease, cancer stroke, and hypertension in 1995 was $51.6 billion and represented 5.7 percent of national health expenditures within the United States. The indirect costs of obesity, such as lost productivity, exacted another $47.6 billion and may have an even greater impact on our entire society for a total of $99.2 billion.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy released a report in 2001 that showed that the societal cost associated with drug abuse in the U.S. was $143.4 billion in 1998, including productivity losses, drug-abuse related illness and premature death.

The health care costs attributable to alcoholism are difficult to estimate because many of the costs related to alcohol abuse cannot be measured directly. But the estimated cost of alcoholism represents 2 percent to 6 percent of the Gross National Product, according to some studies. Absenteeism of alcoholics is 250 percent greater than that of non-alcoholics and their accident rate is 3.6 times higher.

The costs of a poor diet, however, goes beyond obesity. Our current diets that are high in fat, sugar, salt, cholesterol, low in fiber and overall quality have been shown to contribute to increased risk for heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, diabetes, hypertension and osteoporosis, as well as obesity. If these conditions are all taken together, the health care costs associated with treating them reach a staggering $250 billion each year for medical expenses and lost productivity.

Smoking also has a profound effect on everyone's health. Smokers are absent 50 percent more often than nonsmokers. In women under age 65, 30 percent of days spent in the hospital for cancers and respiratory diseases are attributable to smoking.

WHAT MUST CHANGE?

I believe the answer lies in changing attitudes and behaviors toward the environment and ourselves. Health care reform, patient-driven medical care, rehabilitation clinics and the health and wellness movement are each important as individuals learn how to take responsibility for their own lives and health.

HOW DO PEOPLE CHANGE?

A current method being used in counseling clinics is called the Stages of Change Model, developed by James Prochaska. According to this model, there are five stages of change. They are: precontemplation stage (not intending to change), contemplation stage (intending to change), preparation stage (making small/inconsistent changes), action stage (doing the behavior regularly but for less than six months) and maintenance stage (sustaining the change).

Determining where you are on this continuum will help those who are seeking help from a professional. But until an individual is at a point in his or her life where making wellness is a commitment, there really is little any professional can do to “motivate” someone to change.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Moving away from diets and other poor lifestyle habits may be accomplished by moving through these stages of change. Increasing our knowledge, being warned of risks about inactivity, encouraging people to recognize how their inactivity affects their relationships and helping people to think about the personal and societal benefits of becoming active and well are cognitive strategies for change.

Behavioral strategies include taking time for exercise when you think you have none, finding supportive friends who will encourage you to become physically active and eating nutritiously. Health behavior changes involve rewarding yourself in tangible ways for sticking to a new habit, committing yourself to making even small changes and scheduling time to do these things.

Dr. Nancy DiMarco is a research professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, nutrition coordinator for the Institute for Women's Health and coordinator of the master's program in Exercise and Sports Nutrition at Texas Woman's University. She can be reached at ndimarco@twu.edu.

For Further Information Contact:

Roy Kron
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: rkron@twu.edu