How much time and money do you invest in your health? It is no surprise that many people think that living a healthy lifestyle – eating a nutrition-rich, balanced diet, getting plenty of exercise, and undergoing treatments to optimize the way that they look and feel – is expensive. However, the true cost of being unhealthy could be much, much higher.
While not everyone who is unhealthy is obese, obesity is a major factor for many people who are considered unhealthy. Similarly, certain habits can have a direct impact on your long-term health and wellbeing.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which being unhealthy could impact your life.
More Likely To Suffer Financial Instability
A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that people who are unhealthy generally have lower-incomes, are less able to save money, and accumulate less wealth during their lifetime than their healthier peers. Much of this is down to their ability to work, and their increased risk of becoming unwell. We already know that obesity increases the likelihood of experiencing many chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Research has found that obese individuals take an average of four more sick days per year than those employees who are a healthy weight.
Many people who are obese and unhealthy face discrimination at work or find it difficult to get work in the first place. This has a direct impact on their income, socio-economic status, mental health, and quality of life.
Increased Medical Spending
Unsurprisingly, people who are unhealthy spend much more on medical care than healthy people do. In fact, some research suggests that someone who is obese spends approximately 32% more on medical costs than a person who is a healthy weight. Much of this spending is on health issues that could be resolved completely simply by losing weight and adopting a healthier lifestyle.
Similarly, smoking-related illnesses account for $225 billion in direct medical care costs for adults. And that is on top of the money you have spent buying nicotine products in the first place.
Even more worrying is how these expenses could impact unhealthy patients as they age. Healthy issues are already increasingly more likely as we get older and being unhealthy and older could mean that we require significant medical intervention and accumulate the associated costs of this. A report by Bloomberg suggests that Americans spend approximately $1,200 per person per year on prescription drugs. Meanwhile, cancer drugs in the U.S. cost an average of $10,000 per month. Although health insurers and government programs tend to pick up the biggest share of the bill, many of the costs are passed onto the public through taxes and high insurance premiums.
Difficulty Obtaining or Paying For Medical Insurance
Medical insurance can help to cover some of the costs of being unhealthy, but that’s only if you can get cover in the first place. The more health conditions you have, the higher risk you are, and the less likely insurers are to accept you. Even if you do find an insurer willing to cover your medical costs, it is highly probable that your premium will rocket with every claim that you make.
In 2020, the average national cost for health insurance in the United States was $456 for a fairly healthy individual and $1,152 for a family. If you don’t have health insurance or you fail to meet your payments and your policy becomes invalid, a simple broken leg could land you with a bill of around $7,000. Meanwhile, a 3-day stay in hospital could cost as much as $30,000!
Shorter Life Expectancy
Unhealthy habits are one of the leading reasons why people die younger than average. In 2010, the life expectancy for people living in the United States was 78 years old. However, if you have certain unhealthy habits, this could be cut by anywhere from 5 to 20 years! For example, excess alcohol consumption has been shown to lower a person’s life expectancy by up to two decades – especially if you also have a health condition like diabetes.
Some of the worst habits for your health include:
- Smoking
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Poor diet
- Too much or too little sleep
- Sitting down for too long each day
And of course, it is important to remember that some of these habits cost money too. The average retail price of a pack of cigarettes in the United States is $6.65. This means that if you smoke a pack a day, that means that $2,427.25 of your hard-earned money is going up in smoke every year.
While living a healthy lifestyle may be perceived as expensive on the surface, the truth is that in the long run, being unhealthy could cost you more. At Sarasota Laser Lipo, we can help support our patients to make positive changes to their lifestyle so that they can enjoy long, active, and healthy lives. Call us today to learn more about healthy h
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Results will vary based on the patient’s physical health, family history, lifestyle and adherence to our program.
Nothing herein should be interpreted as implying medical treatment, diagnosis, cure or prevention of any disease.
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