That's right. A recent study showed that men and women that were fit in middle age had significantly lower health care costs later. Imagine saving almost $2000.00 every year!
That is what a study presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Reasearch meeting last week showed http://newsroom.heart.org/pr/aha/midlife-fitness-means-lower-healthcare-233183.aspx. The lead author, Dr. Justin Bachman, from UT Southwestern in Dallas collaborating with the Cooper Clinic reported that "physically fit, healthy middle-aged adults have significantly lower health care costs as they age, compared to their less physically fit counterparts.
The study followed 20,489 healthy people from 1999-2009. They controlled for smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and body-mass index (BMI). Fitness was determined by measuring metabolic equivalents (METs) on a treadmill. The higher the METs, the more fit.
When they compared the least fit group of men to the most fit, they found a savings of $1857.00 in medical costs per year ($5134 vs $3277 spent per year!). A savings of 36%
For women the savings were 40% (they do most things better!) from $4565 per year for the least fit to $2755 per year for the most fit.
To quote Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital NYC, "exercise is the best medicine we have!"
Need I say more?
Together we can prevent 75,000 breast cancer cases each year!
This blog is informational and not personal medical advice. Check with your doctor to assure that you are healthy enough to exercise. Then do it!
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