TOTAL LIFETIME FITNESS

Drug Companies and Health Care - Foxes in the Henhouse

November 26th, 2008 Posted by David Lemberg

In July 2008 the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that some children as young as 8 be treated aggressively with cholesterol-lowering drugs.

More recently, in the November 20th, 2008 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine,
researchers recommended that statins be prescribed for millions of healthy people with normal cholesterol levels.

Needless to say, the NEJM study – in which patients were given the statin Crestor – was funded by AstraZeneca, which manufactures Crestor.

First, can you spell conflict-of-interest? The AAP recommendations and the Crestor study conclusions are irresponsible at best. At worst, well, I don’t want to go there.

Beyond that, what’s going on here?

We live in a culture of denial of responsibility. No one is responsible for anything.

• “Twinkies made me do it.”
• I had PMS.”
• “I have bad genes.”
• “It’s not my fault.”

A person’s relative balance of health and disease is usually evaluated on the same basis.

• Who is responsible for a lifelong two-pack-a-day smoker developing lung cancer? The tobacco company, of course.
• Who is responsible for someone gaining 50 pounds in a year? Well, the fast food chain is responsible.
• Who is responsible for hundreds of thousands of Americans developing diabetes each year? Candy manufacturers, naturally. Throw in doughnut-makers, too.

I’ll propose a radical concept - people are actually responsible for their own actions. Going further, in many cases people are responsible for the diseases and disorders they develop. It’s not that I’m a bad person, but I may be making choices that aren’t in my own best interests.

Lifestyle medicine is a relatively new term being used by many medical researchers and medical practitioners. From a lifestyle medicine perspective, many cases of diabetes, overweight and obesity, and high blood levels of cholesterol are caused by lifestyle choices. High-fat diets, high-sugar diets, lack of daily fruits and vegetables, and lack of exercise will cause people to develop diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol.

Lifestyle medicine is directed at causing people to choose healthy behaviors.

So taking statins when you’re healthy to prevent high cholesterol and associated cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders makes no sense. Giving medicines – whose long-term effects are largely unknown – to children makes even less sense.

Am I going to choose risky behaviors, causing me to possibly need medication down the road, or am I going to choose a healthy lifestyle and take responsibility for my own health and well-being?

Yes, statins like Crestor and Lipitor have helped millions of adults with serious health problems. Still, taking these meds is like slamming the barn door after the horse has run away.

Let’s see. If I’m healthy now, will I choose to maintain my good health by regular exercise, a consistent healthy food plan, and sufficient rest. Or will I take a bunch of drugs, let the medication hijack my formerly finely tuned metabolism, and hope it all works out like the study said?

The choice seems clear.

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