subject: Predicting Your Future Health - New Ways To Deliver Health-care [print this page] Predicting Your Future Health - New Ways To Deliver Health-care
Predictive Health-care may not be a household term quite yet, but basically this new, emerging way of delivering health-care in the US focuses on predicting health and its risk factors, as opposed to waiting for disease to begin. Predictive Health-care delivery is by no means a niche market idea in the realm of Alternative Medicine, a feasibility study has been published by a mainstream institution: Emory University Predictive Health Initiative. It alludes to the many advantages including cost savings.
The Change to "Measuring Health" before Discovering Disease
Health is commonly defined as the absence of disease symptoms, and it is disease symptoms that are commercially relevant. In fact, today's Health-care systems are all set-up to measure disease, we are searching for what's wrong, not what's right. However, physical symptoms are evidence of the last stage in the progression of an Illness which originated much earlier. Thus, the purpose of Preventive- or Predictive Health is to identify any sign of degradation in the "whole Health", usually referred to as Holistic Health and what is perceived as Vitality. Whole Health consists of the 6 interweaving elements: Physical - Mental - Emotional - Spiritual - Social - Intellectual Health. As Physical Illness is usually the final manifestation of an Emotional Trauma, treating the Physical Symptom is only a temporary fix. In the attempt to forestall Physical Illness we need to identify the potential cause for the loss of Vitality - and Lifestyle is the usual culprit. By Lifestyle we mean the person's intentional choices such as Nutrition and Activities, and circumstantial factors, such as Environmental Exposure, History, Believes, Social Integration, etc.
Conventional Health-care is not concerned with these intertwining Mind-Body issues, because the medical science consensus neither extends to analytical methods nor the interpretation of results. The generally accepted medical standard for diagnosing disease rests on sample collection, which can be reduced to numerical values, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, bone density and various biomarkers.
In Predictive Health such samples and methods may be used, but in presumed healthy people, these "disease markers" just resemble a snap shot of a condition at the time of sample collection. If all results check out in the "Normal" range, a person is considered physically healthy, even when all 5 non-physical health elements are compromised. In such case, a physical symptom has just not yet established itself measurably.
Holistic Health or Vitality may be defined as the sum of all 6-elements that comprise whole Health. A person, who has been clinically classified as physically healthy, may however completely lack Vitality, if any of the non-physical elements is weakened; while we may perceive a person to have great Vitality, if all health elements are strong and in harmony.
What is needed is a process that measures Vitality as the sum of all Health elements. As Vitality is a highly volatile condition, we cannot solely rely on static samples to predict a person's susceptibility to contract any disease, nor can we recommend a Nutritional concept or Lifestyle modification based on static numericals, such as cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose and insulin. Instead, we have to dynamically monitor how well a person copes with lifestyle specific conditions that include various degrees of stress and rest, and we have to measure cellular function under changing situations. We want to assess the wear and tear that the body has undergone to date.
These Test results incorruptibly and reproducibly portray a person's immunity, strengths and vulnerabilities . When correlated with the person's history, lifestyle and personal objectives, a Lifestyle optimization program (behavior modification) can be generated that does not rely on lifetime prescription drugs.
Predictive Health - a quantum leap in Health-care
The passionate debates on Health-care reform are far from over and will not come to a consensus as long as it is wholly focused on pharmaceuticals based symptoms fixing, all while people get more concerned about their sustained Health.
A Japanese "Attitude Survey on Health and Preparation" (November 1, 2010; Hello-Global.com) states that 69.4% of the respondents "are worried about their future health". There are more indications of people's concerns about their future Health: In the US we are seeing sustained increase in growth rates for Organic Foods even in a recession. The statistics furnish the evidence that people are awaking to the fact that protecting health is better than recovering from illness. The leading market research and information analysis company RNCOS Press Release of October 29, 2010 reveals that the US Organic Food Industry will orchestrate 12.2% CAGR during 2010-2014. North American market growth for Organic Personal Care products amounts to 20% annually, according to Organic Monitor.
"Even in the midst of the economic downturn, the Gym, Health & Fitness Clubs industry has maintained steady growth, with membership rates growing consistently and profits remaining solid. Demand for gyms and health and fitness clubs will continue to rise over the next five years, as the general public becomes more health conscious and the aging population places a greater value on staying fit" - According to IBIS World Industry Report of September 17, 2010. Merriman Curhan Ford, Fitness & Wellness Industry Report predicts US sales of Health and Wellness goods to reach $ 170 billion by 2012, a growth of 70% in 5 years. Gym memberships for people over 50 will rise even more dramatic over the next 10 years with a target market potential of 139.2 million people by 2020; according to Capital Connection, March 2010 Newsletter. The Nutritional Supplements market in the US will exceed $13 billion in 2014, yielding a compound annual growth rate of 7%; says Market Resaearch.com, in the September 2, 2010 Press Release.
These trend numbers clearly portray the global shift to Preventive Health, lead by the US which boasts the highest Health-care costs in the world. If we are truly concerned about our future health, evidenced by spending substantial money for healthy food and lifestyle, it should come naturally that we can no longer rely on drug-centric sick-care, but opt for Predictive and Preventive care.
