Adopting healthy lifestyles may cut healthcare costs substantially

The AP (7/16) reports, "Healthcare costs could be cut substantially if Americans stopped smoking, stopped overeating, and got in shape, a national expert told lawmakers from 11 Midwestern states on Tuesday." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "estimates that if Americans adopted such a healthy lifestyle, 80 percent of heart disease and stroke could be prevented," according to Kenneth E. Thorpe, chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Emory University. "Diabetes and cancer also would be reduced dramatically," Comment: Why can’t we learn? This outcome was first validated by research from Anne Somers and Lester Breslow in the late 70’s in their Alameda County Survey. [Breslow L, Somers AR. The lifetime health-monitoring program. A practical approach to preventive medicine. [N Engl J Med. 1977 Mar 17;296(11):601-8.]