What Does It Really Cost To Be Healthy?
Let's ask the question: What costs more, healthy or unhealthy living?
Every single time I speak at a conference or church, people approach me afterwards seeking help. In probably nine out of ten conversations, as I share some steps they can take to begin their health journey, I am presented with what they believe is the ultimate reason for why they cannot become healthy.
There is a whole variety of other reasons: past failures, family genes, and medical challenges. However, the number one reason offered to me is "It cost too much!"
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I used to feel the same way. I used to believe I couldn't afford to be healthy.
What does the Bible Say?
Before we actually examine costs of both healthy and unhealthy living, we must be reminded what the Bible teaches us about taking care of ourselves.
Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I don't know why, but prior to my life transformation out of obesity, I viewed the above passage as addressing my spiritual actions in a physical world. My idea of honoring God with my body was working hard for him in the church, praying for and serving others, and even sacrificing my physical health to help others spiritually. I was deceived. I used these thoughts as an excuse to remain unhealthy and comfortable in the lifestyle I was living.
Time after time, people say they just can't afford healthy food or that they can't afford a gym membership. If I even think of mentioning a trainer, I'm looked at like I'm speaking a foreign language.
I used to believe that I couldn't financially afford to be healthy. In the past I used the same arguments, the same excuses.
I don't anymore.
There are four questions to address.
Are we obese because we are in debt?
In an article entitled, "More Debt Means More Obesity, Study Says by Charles Bankhead," a study is cited that supports the premise that the more debt the greater percentage of people with obesity. The study was from the University of Mainz in Germany.
I genuinely struggled with this question and assertion. I believe we may be asking the wrong question. The correct question is "Are we in debt because of our obesity?" Now, admittedly, I have not completed a scientific study, but my experience is not that debt causes obesity but that obesity causes debt.
Person after person have repeated my story back to me on almost a weekly basis. Just like me, they used food to help them cope with the stresses of life. Food addiction is just like any kind of addiction in that people will spend beyond their means on a regular basis to eat what they want. Food addiction pushed me in debt. One of the main reasons for my indebtedness was my obesity.
Does poverty cause obesity?
I believe this question is similar to the first one, but has just a bit of difference. Statistically, there is a higher percentage of people who are both obese and struggling financially. I believe it is true that eating healthy foods cost more than eating unhealthy foods, but we also must realize that the problem is much more than just the type of foods that financially challenged people eat.
Once again, I believe that the question is too narrow. Although poverty may be a contributing factor to obesity, it is not the primary reason a greater percentage of poor people are obese. The greater issue is one of people using food just as many use alcohol and drugs to cope with the pressures of life.
What does it cost to be healthy?
A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that eating healthy cost about $1.50 a day more than eating unhealthy. Thus, a family of four would have to spend $6.00 a day more to eat healthy, which averages out to almost $200 a month. On the surface this just appears to be a great burden for even the lower middle class, not to mention those below the poverty line. In 2012, that was over 46 million people according to Census figures.
This figure by itself causes many to shrink away from any kind of healthy lifestyle. When one adds a gym membership or even a trainer to the mix, becoming healthy just appears to be impossible.
This appears to be true until you consider my last question…
What does it cost us to be obese?
I believe that the cost of obesity on a family is much greater than the cost of becoming healthy and I'm not looking to the intangibles of being healthy like mood, happiness, and general health. The cost that obesity placed upon my family was much greater than the cost of being healthy, and I'm addressing financial cost.
My monthly co-pays for my prescription medication were right at $200 a month. Those were my regular prescriptions. Out of convenience we ate out, quite often, and I hit a Starbucks on almost a daily basis.
I can also talk about the cost of my clothing. I can buy 3 pairs of pants for what I used to pay for one pair pants. As a family, we get better gas mileage; the wear and tear on our car is different; even our health expenses have greatly decreased.
What I can tell you is that we spend more on our groceries, an increase of about $300 per month, but we spend less as a family unit per month. We eat out less, our medical expenses are far less, clothing costs less, living in general costs less as a healthy person.
Our experience is that living unhealthy costs more than living healthy. Our family budget reflects this truth. My experience is that obesity brought about our debt.
I could write a complete article simply on the steps of trying to overcome this struggle and I'm sure that I will in the future. What I will say at this point is that we should start with small steps. Begin by first becoming aware of how much and what you are eating. Set up a free account on Myfitnesspal.com and begin to utilize this very easy-to-use tool online to log your food. You are welcome to contact me and our ministry so we can help you begin to take the baby steps you need to take to become healthy.
You are not alone, and you cannot afford to stay unhealthy.
