Overview
With proper diet and regular exercise you can reduce the costs of health insurance premiums, the amount you spend on medicines and the number of co-pays for doctor visits. Doctors regularly prescribe specific exercise and diet regimens to combat diseases and conditions such as osteoporosis, high cholesterol and blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. You can work with your physician or a dietitian to find ways to lower your out-of-pocket medical costs and improve your long-term health.
Considerations
Health care costs include insurance premiums paid by individuals and employers, payments for medicines and co-pays for physician and hospital visits, including checkups, tests, surgeries and other treatments. Fewer insurance claims may lower your premiums. Fewer bouts of cold and flu, better blood cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure require you to buy less medicine. Less long-term abuse of your body, such as eating a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol and living a sedentary lifestyle, will result in fewer medical treatments and expenses.
Diet
A poor diet and lack of exercise can lead to metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of high blood pressure, blood fats and blood sugar. Approximately half of adults age 40 to 60 have metabolic syndrome, according to the website of the UCLA Health System. It leads to coronary heart disease and stroke, cancer and type 2 diabetes. You'll have higher out-of-pocket costs to treat these conditions, your health insurance premiums may rise if you get diabetes, and you may have to pay for a portion of surgeries, such as a coronary artery bypass.
Reducing your risk for disease by adding certain foods to your diet and eliminating excess saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium can reduce your need for doctor visits and medicines. Eating more dietary fiber and less cholesterol can reduce the risk for heart disease and stroke. Dietary fiber may also combat the onset of cancer. Adding more calcium to your diet can improve bone density and reduce the effects of osteoporosis. Eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as tuna and salmon, can improve cholesterol numbers. You can reduce hypertension by decreasing sodium in your diet. Adding iron-rich foods, such as black beans, spinach or red meat, decreases your risk of anemia.
Reducing your risk for disease by adding certain foods to your diet and eliminating excess saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium can reduce your need for doctor visits and medicines. Eating more dietary fiber and less cholesterol can reduce the risk for heart disease and stroke. Dietary fiber may also combat the onset of cancer. Adding more calcium to your diet can improve bone density and reduce the effects of osteoporosis. Eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as tuna and salmon, can improve cholesterol numbers. You can reduce hypertension by decreasing sodium in your diet. Adding iron-rich foods, such as black beans, spinach or red meat, decreases your risk of anemia.
Exercise
Exercise helps prevent and treat a number of health problems. For example, performing weight-bearing exercise improves bone density and reduces your risk for fractures. Regular aerobic exercise can increase your "good" cholesterol numbers, helping you reduce your risk for heart disease and decrease your need to purchase medicines like statins.
American workers miss more than 100 million workdays each year because of lower back pain, according to the Wellness Council of America. Lower back pain often results from excess weight and the stress it places on the spine and back muscles. Exercising can decrease your weight and strengthen your lower back muscles and abdominal muscles, which help stabilize your back.
Treatments for osteoporosis, high cholesterol and lower back pain increase your health care costs if you must pay some or all of the costs of doctor visits and medicines.
Diabetes Prevention
More than half of the diabetes cases caused by obesity are preventable with proper nutrition, according to Dr. David Heber, professor of medicine and director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. Just a 5 percent reduction in your weight can help you reduce your risk for diabetes, the treatment of which requires you to spend money on on insulin, testing equipment and doctor visits.
Wellness Programs
Many companies provide employee wellness programs to help workers stay healthy and decrease health care costs. This results in lower insurance premiums for employers, and less spending on drugs and treatments for employees. Wellness programs include adding a fitness center on company property, giving employees rebates for exercise equipment or gym memberships they purchase, offering nutrition lectures and serving healthy foods in the cafeteria.
References
- UCLA Health System: How Nutrition and Exercise Can Increase Productivity and Lower Health Care Costs
- Wellness Council of America: Building a Well Workplace
- Mercer University School of Medicine: Promote Health Through Diet and Exercise
- MayoClinic.com: HDL Cholesterol: How to Boost Your 'Good' Cholesterol
About this Author
Sam Ellyn has been writing since 1983 for national and regional sports, fitness, business and parenting magazines. He writes and lectures on fitness, nutrition, sports, business, cooking, beauty and home and garden, and works in magazine consulting and association management. He worked in commercial kitchens for more than 20 years, and holds two journalism degrees.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/302080-how-health-care-costs-lower-with-healthy-diet-exercise/#ixzz1QlMJ1hDL
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