When “life” gets in the way of good health

A few years ago, I saw a lovely patient who had gained a surprising amount of weight between visits. Surprised, because usually she takes great care of herself, I said, “Wow. You’ve gained 10 pounds since I saw you last. What’s going on?” She looked at me and told me that her finances were in dire straits. She explained that she gained weight because her budget did not allow her to buy healthy food. In fact, she told me that the bagged cookies she purchased at a local dollar store were the least costly way to keep her from feeling hungry. My heart was heavy that day, as it always is when I hear that my patients are having trouble getting their basic needs met. I am fortunate to work in a practice that has social workers, so I was able to get some urgent help for her food insecurity. And yet I knew that it was going to be hard work to take off those 10 extra pounds, and that those pounds were going to make her knees sore and mess with her blood sugars and blood pressure. I wish this were an uncommon event, but it’s not. According to a NEJM Catalyst blog post, social, environmental, and behavioral factors account for up to 60% of people’s health needs. The things we focus on so often in medicine account for just 10%. One organization’s story: Stepping forward and making a change Kaiser Permanente, a health care organization based in California, recognized that nations that focus on social needs — housing, food, transportation — often spend less on health c...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Behavioral Health Health care Source Type: news