Okay, wait, when we said we wanted health care for everyone, we didn't mean that we wanted everyone to desperately need health care. Here are a couple of headlines that scared the bejeesus out of me:
A Rise in Kidney Stones Is Seen in U.S. Children - NYTimes.com
Kidney stones, once considered a disorder of middle age, are now showing up in children as young as 5.
Child Obesity Seen as Warning of Heart Disease - NYTimes.com A new study finds evidence that children who are obese or have high cholesterol show warning signs of heart disease.
In the second article the study finds, "artery walls of children and teenagers who are obese or have high cholesterol resembled the thickness of artery walls of an average 45-year-old." (Silent scream here). The kids in the study ranged in age from 6-19 years old!
And it isn't as though this is a small portion of the United States we are talking about. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 16 percent of children ages 2 to 19 are overweight. This tracks well with what we know about the growing prevalence of Type II Diabetes, but now it also appears as though these young people may be at early risk for heart disease as well.
Prevailing data shows that as people age they become medically more costly, but when our 6 year-olds have the arteries and cholesterol levels of 45 year olds, it is anyone's guess how long the middle aged population will maintain its hegemony on medical costs.
- What are you doing to encourage spousal and dependent participation in your wellness program?
- How many spouses and dependents participate?
- Do you do outreach for parents and kids with high BMI or low activity and high risk for diabetes?
- What about other more common childhood ailments like asthma and coping with allergens?
In many cases, we see that spouses and dependents contribute just as much - if not more - to health care costs and absenteeism as employees themselves. If we choose to care for the whole person, shouldn't some aspect of that care be targeted at impacting the general well-being of their family milieu as well?
We can help companies and employees with our wellness programs. Please contact us at http://wellness.heartscreenamerica.com.
Posted by: Anna | March 25, 2009 at 09:29 AM