Covid is our #3 Killer. Why do we keep ignoring #1?
Chuck Runyon
CEO, Co-Founder at Self Esteem Brands, LLC, Anytime Fitness, Waxing the City, The Bar Method, Basecamp Fitness
Americans are dying younger, and a deadly virus is to blame. Just not the one you think …
According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the CDC found that life expectancy in America fell by nearly 2 years in 2020, to 77. That’s the biggest drop since World War II.
?Is Covid-19 playing a role? Definitely. Covid was the third leading cause of death. Cancer was #2. But what about #1? I wasn’t surprised to learn that it was heart disease, because that’s been our most contagious killer for decades.?
“But, Chuck, heart disease isn’t contagious!”
Really? Studies have shown that when a child is born to obese parents, that child has an 80% greater chance of also becoming obese*. In fact, like Covid-19, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stress, hypertension and issues associated with obesity are transmissible even among complete strangers**.
But thanks to Covid-19, I have a solution to finally address this problem: Health Passports!
?It makes perfect sense. Vaccine Passports don’t prove that you’re healthy, but they do prove that you’ve taken steps to bolster your defenses. Similarly, a Health Passport would prove that you’ve taken steps to fight the pandemic of heart disease by acquiring some baseline knowledge about your body and your personal health.
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Right now, most of us are unvaccinated against heart disease because we don’t understand food labels, underestimate our caloric intake and overestimate our caloric burn, don’t know our resting metabolic rate, don’t get enough sleep, and don’t understand the link between physical activity and mental health.??
?But what if you could earn a Health Passport by acquiring a baseline knowledge of nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental and emotional health? It could be digitally deployed and you could renew it every few years to stay current. And just as Vaccine Passports get you into restaurants and entertainment venues, a Health Passport would give you access to, among other things, lower health insurance costs.
?We already do this with good driving records and auto insurance, so why not good health practices and health insurance? Come to think of it, if we already license people to safely operate their 3,500-lb. vehicles, so why not their 200-lb. bodies?
?Vaccine Passports are a tool to combat a deadly virus. But that virus will eventually recede and leave us with a world of unhealthy people who have immunity to Covid-19, yet are still highly vulnerable to heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. If we want to fight our true #1 killer, we need Health Passports now.
Team Lead - Eric Katz Group at eXp Realty
2 年Right on Chuck!
Marketing | Business Performance Advisor at Insperity | Advising CEOs & Business Leaders with Human Capital, HR, Benefits, Employee Retention and Compliance
2 年On board!!! Makes sense ??
Leasing Consultant for Geneva Capital
2 年well said, Chuck!
Here is an out of the box thought, Teach it in schools, make health knowledge a mandatory subject, what ? no room for it it in the syllabus, we can fix that, drop diversity, gender and race .
29 yr. Veteran in the Fitness, Wellness & Spa Industry. Sales, Marketing & Branding Expert | Digital Creator | Transforming People's Lives and Businesses with Innovative Wellness & Fitness Solutions.
2 年Amen to that. If governments really cared about your health they would ban refined sugar and industrialized seed oils!