presidential-physical-fitness-award.gif(Friday’s Populist Capitalist Blog Post)

Some of the “easiest” savings in health care costs in America can come from Americans, as individuals and as a nation, simply adopting healthy behavior. A significant percentage of our health care dollars is related to overeating, poor eating, fast food, junk food, smoking, lack of exercise, and alcohol.

It is astounding that a strong clarion call for healthier eating and more exercise is not at the core of the current health care cost debate. Another of America’s charismatic presidents, John F. Kennedy, made national fitness a personal priority, instituting the Presidential Fitness Award, calling for 50-mile hikes, and addressing physical fitness frequently in his public pronouncements.

Preventive health care does not need to involve expensive tests, doctor visits, or even a visit to a physical therapist. Some of the most effective preventive health care involves simply altering one’s behavior, eating less, and exercising more. That is within the power of all of us.

Closing Quotes

“The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone.” — Orison Swett Marden

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves…” — William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Act I, scene ii, lines 140-141), Cassius speaking