Why is preventive healthcare important to me?

Within Australia more emphasis needs to be placed on prevention in our community because:

• The majority of the leading causes of death in Australia are due to chronic preventable disease1,2
• Yet only 1.9% of Australian healthcare expenditure is spent on public health and prevention3
• 13% of adults reported experiencing high or very high psychological distress in the 2007-08 National health survey4; and
• 62% of Australian adults are overweight or obese4

Australian’s leading motivations to stay healthy and live longer are to enjoy life, and spend time with family and friends.5 Personal Health Optimiser was designed with these goals in mind.

At Lachesis Biosciences we like the 1947 World Health Organisation definition of health: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity“
Results from the latest Australian National Health Survey for 2007-08 reveal an unhealthy nation:

• Smoking — 1 in 5 adults are current smokers
• Nutrition — 9 in 10 adults have inadequate fruit and vegetable intake
• Alcohol — 1 in 7 adults consume risky or high-risk quantities     NB.4 standard alcoholic drinks/day is risky for men and high-risk for women
• Physical activity — 1 in 3 adults are sedentary4

All of the poor lifestyle habits above are associated with reduced longevity

In westernised countries such as Australia your risk of suffering from the most common cancers is highly dependent on preventable factors, such as whether you are overweight, obese or smoke.6,7

"A third of all cancer deaths and a significantly greater number of cancer cases could be prevented through lifestyle changes..."
Professor Ian Olver, CEO, The Cancer Council of Australia.8

Whilst family history plays a role in your cancer risk, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important too,7,8 and we give you the latest advice on the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices and about the risks of poor choices.

See for yourself the potential consequences of not taking action to stay healthy...

The personal health optimiser brochure is in PDF format.  To view it you need Adobe Acrobat Reader.  If you do not already have this, you can download it for free now

 

Date Created: 24-Jul-2008

Last Updated: 22-Jun-2011 03:53 PM