10K Steps + Fitbit

CECI CONNOLLY Nearly every morning lately, as I make my daily dart to the metro station two blocks away, I pass a familiar face. She is one of about a dozen women who toil in the local nail salon. She does not live in my neighborhood, yet I see her early most mornings hiking up our hill, long before the salon opens. Most days I wave and smile. But one recent morning I stopped and asked what she was doing. Her English is so-so and my Vietnamese is non-existent. But she managed to proudly convey, “Ten thousand steps!” She’s not the only one. I myself have caught the walking bug, egged on by my better half and a Fitbit. For me, the rubber wristband has been revelatory. Given how active I am, I just assumed I was getting 10,000 steps every day. Far from it. Knowing your count – and how far you are from the daily goal – is an effective nudge to get off the metro one stop early or choose a lunch spot that’s a few blocks further away. Some of the biggest brains in our country today are struggling with how to reduce our nation’s medical tab – and make us healthier. One giant clue: in 2010, 86 percent of all health care spending was on patients with one or more chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity, which are largely preventable. In other words, if we could all commit to shedding a few pounds, move around a bit more and drink a little less, we’d slash costs and feel better in the process. It sounds so simple, but behav...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: THCB Source Type: blogs