Showing posts with label plans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plans. Show all posts
Comparing Top Healthy Weight Loss Plans Diet vs Exercise
Monday, March 17, 2014
(Article first published as Best Healthy Weight Loss Plan: Diet vs. Exercise on Technorati.)
Everyone has an opinion as to whether diet or exercise works best when trying to lose weight. Which method will provide the best weight loss results, and more importantly, which will help in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, diabetes and cancer?
Everyone has an opinion as to whether diet or exercise works best when trying to lose weight. Which method will provide the best weight loss results, and more importantly, which will help in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, diabetes and cancer?
Both diet and exercise are important when considering a weight loss plan, and each regimen has important benefits when considering the war on obesity. More than 45 million Americans belong to a health club and yet obesity continues to rise at an alarming rate. How do you determine the best strategy to drop those excess pounds without disrupting your daily routine?Important Benefits of Diet for Weight Loss and Health
Changing the quantity and type of food eaten is the single most important way to promote weight loss and improve overall health. To lose one pound of body fat, it’s necessary to burn an extra 3500 calories, either through physical exertion or reduction in calories eaten. This can be done by jogging for a total of 7 hours over the course of a week or through substituting 3 sugary soft drinks each day with a no calorie alternative. The net effect will be the same, and most people find the dietary modification route much easier to tolerate. Diet trumps exercise as the quickest route to sustainable weight loss.
It’s important to look beyond weight loss, and consider the health implications of a reduced calorie diet. The food you eat has a direct impact on your risk of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia. The nutrients in the foods we eat have either a positive or negative impact on our genes. Studies demonstrate that our genome is altered ever so slightly every time we eat, depending on our food choices at that meal.
Researchers have been able to map the negative genetic changes which we incur from a single meal of fried foods, ined carbohydrates and sweets. Our genes are dynamic and continually changing the risk factors which lead to serious disease. Proper diet is the most important factor in any healthy weight loss plan.
Compliment Diet with Exercise For Maximum Benefit
While diet may be the most efficient route to permanent weight loss, exercise is a necessary component to ignite your fat burning machine. Combined with a low calorie menu, exercise compliments diet to provide muscle tone, endurance and a positive mood. Over 70 studies confirm the mood lifting effect of both cardio and resistance exercise performed for 20 to 30 minutes most days of the week. Regular exercise is also important for reduction of heart disease risk as it builds the heart muscle, as well as prevention of diabetes due to improved regulation of insulin metabolism by the muscles.
A diet which emphasizes substitution of high calorie, unhealthy foods with low calorie, nutrient dense vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, nuts and seeds will alter the body’s metabolism and result in slow, sustainable weight loss. When compared to exercise, most people will find a dietary restriction plan easier to follow because small changes in food choice lead to quicker weight loss.
The importance of both diet and exercise on overall health cannot be minimized, as both are clear winners in disease risk reduction, but the blue ribbon is awarded to healthy diet and calorie restriction in the weight loss battle.
The High Price of High Deductible Plans and the Potential Role of Population Health Management
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
 |
| Your bronze plan ticket to health care? |
Wharam and colleagues examine the science behind high deductible insurance in this just-written article in the New England Journal.
And the science says there is a lot we do not know.
Once insurance risk is monetized into premiums, policymakers as well as insurers are operating in the dark about calculating the right deduction for a given income level. One example is Cover Oregons $5000 deductible for persons who are at 200% to 400% of the federal poverty level. That means a family with a yearly income as low as $47,000 would have to spend more than 10% of their income on health care before seeing a dime of insurance coverage.
"Egads," says the DMCB.
Given that stark reality, the challenge is to figure out how an up-front deductible influences "buying behavior" once persons get sick. Unfortunately, most of the research out there is on the impact of relatively "small" amounts of out-of-pocket expenses on health care utilization, especially in low-income populations. The bad news is that lay-persons - who are unable to discern the difference between a simple headache vs. a brain tumor - tend to "indiscriminately" lower all utilization as their cost sharing goes up.
There has also been no research on the impact of high deductible plans on mortality or chronic condition control.
Concluding that the U.S. is "poorly prepared" for what will happen under Obamacares bronze high deductible plans, Wharam et al recommend there be more research on the topic. Pending that, they suggest consumers be educated about their insurance purchases and be encouraged to chose low-deductible plans. They note that the star-crossed insurance exchanges (once theyre fixed) can be configured to help do that. When there is employer-based insurance, employers could be encouraged to make the deductibles more proportional to income. In addition, health savings accounts could also help.
While the authors dont use the words "population health management," they tap this discipline as one solution to this Obamacare problem. They point out that predictive modeling/risk stratification can be used to create "personalized" insurance designs that optimize high-risk patients access to care. Patients in these plans could have access to decision-aids and coaching that help them figure out when its a simple headache and then they should seek medical care.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
