This is written in good faith with the desire to help. I am not judging or criticising anyone. We are all human. I battle daily to maintain a healthy BMI (currently 20.8). This is another of my articles focusing on cat caregivers rather than directly on the cat. It is looking at cat caregiving from a different angle.
Franky a very important angle as the quality of cat caregiving can be compromised by a caregiver’s poor health. A lot of poor health both in the United States and the United Kingdom is due to being overweight. It’s that well known obesity epidemic which is getting worse.
The news today is that “Prescribing fruit and vegetables to boost people’s intake by a serving a day results in better heart health, a study concluded.”
It is a way of ensuring that people eat healthily which is taking proactive rather than reactive steps in the form of pills. It is hard to eat healthily as the healthy foods are often boring. And people look for enjoyment in eating. I certainly do. But, you know, if you want to be happy be healthy. In the long-term you’ll be happier if you eat boring healthy foods, lose weight and are healthier.
Improvements in weight, blood sugar and blood pressure followed when adult individuals were given vouchers for healthy foods.
The research was conducted by Tufts University in Massachusetts. The study called for an increase in prescribing fruit and veg.
In the UK, the NHS is testing healthy food prescriptions in parts of England. This is all about takling obesity as there are many spin-off illnesses. Type 2 diabetes is the best-known consequence of obesity and it costs the NHS £10 billion annually to treat.
Participants who receive this incentive consume more fruit and vegetables, yielding clinically relevant outcomes.
Fang Fang Zhang – senior author of the study
The study is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
There were 2,000 adult and 1,800 child participants from low-income families identified as high risk for cardiometabolic diseases e.g., diabetes and high blood pressure.
They were given loyalty cards or vouchers which provided them with free or discounted produce. The value of the prescriptions were £34 per month per household ($43) in adult programs. They must have figured out that this is cheaper than the cost of ill-health in the American population to the economy. It is all down to economics at the end of the day.
Prescriptions in the USA
According to the web search results, the average cost of prescription drugs in the United States is much higher than in other countries. Here are some key facts from the results:
- In 2019, the U.S. spent more than $1,000 per person on prescribed medicines, an amount higher than any peer nation1.
- Prescription drug prices in the United States are 2.56 times those seen in 32 other nations, and 3.44 times higher for brand-name drugs2.
- US consumers are spending $1,011 per year on prescription drugs, nearly three times as much as Sweden, who spend just $351 per year3.
- Louisiana is the state with the highest levels of out-of-pocket spending, with an annual average of $227 per person3.
RX
In the US, Rx is a symbol that is used as an abbreviation of the word “prescription”. It is formed by placing a line across the right foot of the letter “R”. The symbol is commonly seen on drug stores, doctor’s offices, and bottles of pills and other medicines.
Letter to The Times
There is an interesting letter to the Times newspaper today:
Sir, The seriousness of damaging ingredients in our food must not be underestimated. The obvious signs are all too visible. Reliance on ultra-processed takeaways and prepared meals that contain seed oils are already devouring health service resources through diabetes, heart attacks and type 2 diabetes. Obesity also puts pressure on joints so people require hip and knee replacements at a relatively young middle age – another NHS burden.
Education in simple, basic home cooking is essential to halt this and improve the nation’s fitness. The waddling. limping masses must take responsibility for their health and benefits of a fitter lifestyle.
Rachel Swift, W. Sussex.
