Top Health Issues of 2007…and into 2008
Published on Dec 31st, 2007 in Health with
The following is a list of prime health issues from 2007 that are expected to persist into the New Year.
Green Energy
This trend isn’t about to go out of style any time soon. More and more people are buying products that are supposed to be healthier for the environment and our bodies, including organic foods, cleaning products, phthalate-free plastics, and hybrid cars. An estimated $500 billion per year is spent on green products.
Sleeping Pills
Insomnia is becoming an epidemic with approximately $4.5 billion spent a year. No doubt we’ll continue seeing those sleeping pill commercials at regular intervals. Whatever happened to the good old fashioned glass of warm milk?
Surgery Abroad
Approximately 300,000 Americans traveled outside the US for surgery in 2007, and it isn’t just for plastic surgery anymore. Why? Because it’s a lot cheaper, sometimes less than half the cost! However, consumers need to be extremely cautious about seeking high quality care – no matter where you go – or you could end up with a really ugly boob job and a whopping infection to boot. Do your research!
Hiding Vegetables in Junk Food
Hmm, I’m not so sure I’d agree with having stealth vegetables as a major health trend as I am of the opinion that this tactic manuever has been used by mothers before the dawn of canned foods. But I admit, I’m not an experienced mother (or even an unexperienced one), so I continue to fall short of being omniscient! However, the book, Deceptively Delicious
Children and Mental Disorders
Unfortunately more and more children are diagnosed with mental disorders each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 150 children suffers from autism. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder has increased over 40 times in the past 10 years. Is this due to a rise in the actual disorders or because physicians are more able to diagnose them?
Obesity
This is my opinion. I believe obesity will continue to be a hot item in 2008 for adults and now children. We’ll continue to see new diets, diet pills, fitness gadgets, fitness classes, and probably fitness blogs. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the biggest fitness issue for 2008 is increasing the number of knowledgeable and skilled fitness trainers/managers.
Sources: MSN, Deceptively Delicious, American College of Sports Medicine
It will be interesting to watch the impact of Obesity and other poor health related issues on the cost of health insurance.
Great write-up!
I really don’t know when I had a good last night’s sleep. At the same time, sleeping pills and the like scare me. I do, however, occasionally take Nyquil when I feel in desperate need of some rest.
glblguy, Yes, I agree it will be interesting, especially since health problems related to obesity is costing the health industry as a whole a significant amount of money!
Mrs. Micah, I’m with you; I don’t like to use sleep medications. However, I admit I’ve taken 1/2 a Tylenol PM on occasion when I used to work the night shift and just couldn’t fall asleep in the morning (especially when people were mowing their lawns)! I was pretty much in a constant state of sleep deprivation, as was the case with many others who had to swing from day to night shift. That in and of itself can be potentially dangerous!