Only in the USA that you can go bankrupt if you get a heart surgery from a heart attack. This happened to my co-worker who has medical insurance. Sitting on his desk 8-hrs a day and eating a western diet did not help him.  He is in his 50s.

Many of us are now empowered to take control of our health as we hit the gym to go for cross-fit training or run around our neighborhood to burn some calories and sweat out.

We flock to Trader Joes, farmer’s market and/or Whole Foods to avoid toxins in our foods. Many food delivery companies and fitness apps were created. Our children are now more informed compared to the Sandwich generation.

But the high cost of housing in the bay area makes us work past 65 yrs of age and work two jobs.  We only hope that we will not be stressed by the workload and lifestyle we are in.

As consumers, we can still control our health care delivery system. Be alert, be informed and be proactive with our health. This is the only way we can cut cost and reserve the hospital only for emergencies.

Connie

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From: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/09/01/online-tools-help-people-improve-their-health-but-need-more-study.html

Afshin’s team also found that web-based programs to help people become more physically active were highly effective, with 88 percent helping people exercise more.

Among web-based programs for quitting smoking, 77 percent increased people’s success. Mobile texting programs were less helpful, and only two out of seven helped people stop smoking for at least one week.

Among web-based programs to cut down alcohol use, about 83 percent were shown to be helpful.

“Programs that have components such as goal-setting and self-monitoring and use multiple modes of communication and tailored messages tended to be more effective,” Afshin said.

Brie Turner-McGrievy, a behavioral researcher at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, noted that participants in many traditional, in-person interventions may not have much support in between meetings.

With technology, however, real-time feedback is possible, she said by email. “We are able to adapt our interventions as participants are engaging in healthy or unhealthy behaviors throughout the day.”

Though traditional methods may still have some advantages, this is changing as technology changes, said Turner-McGrievy, who was not involved in the new study.

Afshin noted that tech interventions can be combined with in-person care as well. “Clinicians . . . can use such programs to help their patients improve their lifestyle behaviors and reduce the risk of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” he said.