Active Living Strategies Pay

Posted by Sheila Redick on January 18, 2006

Today, I asked a health care expert about the value of cities designed and programmed to encourage active living as part of daily life.  CEOs for Cities member Gary Shorb leads Methodist Healthcare a healthcare delivery system with seven hospitals based in Memphis, and he told me that it is not unusual for fewer than 10 percent of a company's employees to account for 50+ percent of its health care costs.  (He cited one case where 4 percent of employees account for 51 percent of its costs.) 

What drives these costs?  Chronic illnesses -- diabetes, high blood pressure which leads to stroke and congestive heart failure.  Genetics, of course, play a role, but Gary says that inactivity and poor diet leading to obesity is a big part of the problem. 

Would the adoption of active living strategies help reduce health care costs?  Absolutely, according to Gary.  Although it wouldn't necessary help solve the chronic diseases in the short term, it would make a big difference in the long term.

In a related item in today's USA Today, a new study from the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle reports that older men and women who exercised even modestly three times a week or more reduced their risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's.  The study again makes the point that just a few changes in design and programming of cities can make a difference in our health and the price we pay for it.