So here we are in January 2010, conscious of the fact that our middle-aged little planet has managed to complete one more twirl around its rather ordinary star. For many, just reflecting on the nature of time can generate enough anxiety to fuel at least one or two New Year’s pledges.But even if you don’t participate in the existential crisis of making resolutions, chances are you still have goals. Perhaps you’re like me and your goal is to stop Facebook-stalking Dr. Muscles. If you’re anything like the average non-psycho American, you’ve resolved to lose weight or quit smoking or tackle some other health-related nuisance that you’ve been meaning to address. You are certainly in good company. In fact (and this may make you more or less enthusiastic about your personal improvement vows)—the federal government supports you! The feds, along with more than 400 other participating organizations, have generated a comprehensive framework for national health goals called Healthy People 2020. HP2020 is essentially a list of national health-related New Year’s resolutions for the next decade.HP2020’s predecessor, Healthy People 2010, aimed to increase quality and years of healthy life as well as eliminate health disparities. Leading health indicators for the nation included mental health (i.e. reduce the number of crazies), physical activity (i.e. reduce the number of lazies) and responsible sexual behavior (i.e. reduce the number of unintended babies). While HP2020 has retained many of the 2010 objectives, the program’s architects have expanded upon the original vision to include several new overarching goals for HP2020. One of the new goals: “to create physical and social environments that promote health for all.”No one would argue that individual lifestyle choices like diet and exercise aren’t crucial for wellness. Yet the new goal of creating healthy environments reflects more current understandings in the health sciences—that broader determinants, such as socioeconomic status and access to civil rights, play an even larger role in shaping health . The idea that a person’s environment influences her health is nothing new. Turn-of-the-century public health nursing pioneers such as Lillian Wald deserve a major shout-out for addressing health needs through social activism. But historically, the profit-driven, sausage-centric medical world hasn’t exactly embraced nursing’s social consciousness. More recently, research has validated the links between life conditions (like political freedom, education, resource distribution and social equality) and health. For instance, illiteracy and poverty are known to be the some of the strongest risk factors for poor health—and both are more prevalent here in the U.S. than in peer countries like Canada, Germany or Japan.Correcting a whole country’s social determinants sounds fine and dandy, but we can’t possibly tackle them on our own as individuals. The needed changes are numerous and complex, and addressing these issues at the policy level is an enormous difficultly for the institutions facing them. It’s not like you can just legislate a cultural shift or wake up one day and add “fix poverty” beneath “pick up milk” on your to-do list. There’s a big difference between me repeatedly poking Dr. Muscles on Facebook and actually convincing him to treat me to a little after-hours “professional courtesy” in exam room 3. And there’s a big leap between claiming you want everyone to be healthy and actually addressing the nuts (ahem) and bolts of how cultural and social practices keep people poor or uneducated or oppressed. The health reform legislation being hashed out by Congress attempts to close certain gaps in health care by expanding social programs like Medicaid and offering insurance subsidies. Individual responsibility is also addressed via a new legal requirement that everyone purchase health insurance. These policies help minimize certain inequities concerning access to care; but relying solely on the health care system or the efforts of individuals to solve our health crisis just won’t cut it. As the HP2020 advisory committee states, “Responsibilities for promoting healthful environments at multiple levels—including the individual, social, physical and policy environments—go beyond the traditional health care and public health sectors.” This means the health of our nation is truly a shared responsibility. Although your personal resolution this January may revolve around a StairMaster and a stack of Fitness magazines, our real challenge in the coming years will involve restructuring our society to address the broader determinants of health, like equality and environmental cleanliness. Whether we do this by guaranteeing access to education, transitioning to green technologies or generating policies that support local economies remains to be determined. The HP2020 advisory committee offers some generic guidance for policy makers, such as tax breaks for the working class or better education. But in reality, there’s no silver bullet. The changes needed to create healthy cells in the bodies and brains of American people will require a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach. So here’s to hoping that 2010 ushers in the era of collective resolve to pull our heads out of our big (and growing) American butts and make Healthy People 2020 a reality.
Resolutions You Can Actually Accomplish
How about a shot of inspiration for the coming year? It’s on the house. I’ve looked at the leading health indicators in the Healthy People program and generated a list of government-sanctioned resolutions to choose from. Try not to get too excited.
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• “I hereby commit to calculating my body mass index, or BMI, by visiting nhlbisupport.com/bmi and plugging my height and weight into the fancy little calculator thing .”• “I hereby resolve to sexify my physique by obtaining at least 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic activity, like hiking, each week. To really enhance my luscious pectoral muscles, I further commit to twice-weekly weight training sessions as well.” Consult a licensed health care provider first if you have any limitations, injuries or chronic health problems. • “Miss Diagnosis told me that appropriate nutrition is important for achieving a healthy weight and for preventing other unflattering bodily accessories like cancer and heart disease. I resolve to visit Harvard’s website at www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid to learn about a newer food pyramid guide that’s based on scientific evidence.”• “After visiting the aforementioned website, I now understand that coffee and cigarettes do not a healthy meal make. I plan to visit the website fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov in order to calculate how many fruits and vegetables I should be eating every day .” • “Speaking of cigarettes and tobacco products, I think I heard somewhere that they’re bad for you? I resolve to call 1-800-QUIT-NOW and kick the cancer sticks . My lungs, heart, skin and breath will thank me.” • “Half of the babies born in the U.S. today result from unplanned, unintended pregnancies . Since I sometimes have trouble feeding and wiping myself, I don’t think I’m ready for a baby and hereby resolve to use protection each and every time I get it on.”• “Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 1 to 34. Since I’m not really into the idea of flying through my windshield and decorating the asphalt with my internal organs , I resolve to wear my seat belt whenever I’m in my little four-wheeled death trap and to never, ever drive if I’ve been consuming adult beverages.” • “I resolve to write many letters to the Alibi proclaiming what a genius Miss Diagnosis is.” Recent statistical data from several leading health agencies suggest that this activity has potent anti-aging effects.
