What is preventive health & why is it so important?
Preventive health is a population based strategy to promote overall health and wellbeing, which in turn helps prevent the onset of chronic disease and illness. Often, we don't think about an issue or health concern until it actually presents itself and sometimes that’s too late. We avoid the dentist like the plague and most of us may not even know the name of our GP. Changing the culture from reactive health care to preventive is something that is very much achievable through community action and behaviour change. And here comes your accountability! My Health Pledge (www.myhealthpledge.com.au) is a new, ongoing initiative we’ve set up to help drive health behaviours in the community. For you, your family, your workplace and the wider Australian community. With over 10 years in the health and nutrition space, I thought it time to link behaviour change principles to health services which already exist. Doctors, psychologists, skin specialists, physios…the list goes on.
Currently, approximately 38% of disease in Australia is attributable to preventive health measures. These are the modifiable behaviours we all have some kind of control over. They range from smoking and alcohol use to physical inactivity, high blood cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables. We all have the ability to change our habits to prevent health issues which may be days, weeks, months or years in the future. That’s the beauty of preventive health; you may never know just how much you’ve saved or changed your life with such a simple action. The other positive benefit of preventive health is the ripple effect our activities create are almost endless. Both on ourselves individually and our wider community and family members. Whether you enjoy a bit of mindful meditation, a daily walk with a podcast or have just booked in a doctors visit for the first time in 6-12 months, these are all positive preventive health behaviours and can be highly individualised.
If we are in good health, we are able to live longer, more fulfilling lives. And before anyone says I’m too old or unfit for that to matter, there is always something positive we can do to benefit health outcomes, regardless of your current activity level or illness state. A better understanding of prevention is when it is broken up into the following 3 definitions:
Primary prevention- intervening before health issues occur. Staying ahead of illness and disease where possible (eg. Healthy eating and regular check ups).
Secondary prevention- screening to identify disease or illness in the early stages usually before the onset of any signs or symptoms (eg mammograms or blood pressure tests)
Tertiary prevention- managing disease after a specific diagnosis to slow or stop the spread throughout our body (eg chemotherapy).
Australia boasts having one of the best life expectancies around the world at 83 years of age! There is still plenty of work to be done though. An ageing population comes with a growing list of preventable chronic health issues. On average we live with 11 years of poor health in our older age (or 13% of our life). There is always something we can do to make our lives more fulfilling and rewarding as we progress through the decades of our life. The earlier we start, the more benefit it provides.
If we’ve learnt anything in the past few years, it’s that our own health and the health of the community should always remain a priority. We only have one body to utilise in life so why not make it function at its best for as long as possible. Here’s your nudge to create a new behaviour around your health. That one thing you’ve been putting off forever but never really got around to doing. Head across to the My Health Pledge website (www.myhealthpledge.com.au) to create your own pledge and join a growing community of individuals, community groups and workplaces taking back control of their long term health outcomes.