The United States is a nation full of risk takers. Some people climb mountains; others race cars; and others jump out of perfectly good airplanes. But why do people take chances, especially when the obvious risks greatly outweigh any conceivable reward?
Who knows? People do things for their own reasons, and they don't always make sense. If people behaved as they should, we'd see a much lower rate of alcohol abuse, smoking, drug addiction, overeating and gambling -- the five most expensive addictions according to a 2006 Forbes article by Tom Van Riper.
But they don't, and the cost to the country for these vices is a staggering $590 billion per year, primarily in lost productivity and medical treatment. And that doesn't even count the amount people personally spend on these addictive behaviors.
This, of course, is the time of the year when we promise ourselves we're going to kick a few of our bad habits. If successful, two of our most popular resolutions -- quitting smoking and losing weight -- could have an enormous economic impact. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34 percent of U.S. adults are obese and 17 percent of children are overweight. This results in $75 billion in direct costs and 112,000 deaths per year. The tobacco figures are even worse -- 45.3 million Americans smoke cigarettes "even though this single behavior will result in death or disability for half of all regular users." The costs? Roughly $96 billion in direct medical expenses, $97 billion in indirect costs and 438,000 deaths per year.
Unfortunately, by the time we receive our next issue of Benefits Selling, most of our resolutions will be long forgotten. Why is that? The simple answer is that it's not easy to change, so most people don't. That's bad news for the health insurance industry, whose No. 1 defense against rising premiums is a strategy aimed at modifying consumer behavior. And to make matters worse, there's a growing chorus that seems to be telling people who drink, smoke, overeat, and refuse to exercise that they're just fine the way they are.
We've all heard about the health benefits of drinking red wine, but now we're learning that other types of alcohol also might be beneficial. In "The Science of Healthy Drinking," author Gene Ford discusses the positive effects of moderate alcohol consumption on acute hospitalization, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and even the common cold.
For the smokers out there, several companies now are marketing an electronic cigarette, created to help people get a nicotine fix without all the hazardous substances that have been proven to cause cancer. "Safe cigarette" users puff on the device as they would a real cigarette, but they don't light it and it produces no smoke. Instead, the e-cigarette releases a fine, heated mist containing varying concentrations of liquid nicotine. Although the World Health Organization has yet to recognize the electronic cigarette as a safe or legitimate nicotine replacement therapy for smokers who would like to quit, millions of people around the world already have switched.
There's something for the overeaters, as well. Recognizing that "a diet only works if you have control over what, how, and when you're eating," David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men's Health magazine, has created a guide for those of us who frequently eat on the run. "Eat This, Not That!" helps readers make better, more nutritious choices without dieting. In other words, it helps us choose the best bad option.
Last but not least, we might soon be able to exercise without even getting off the couch. The Associated Press reported in July that a team of scientists at the Salk Institute has discovered a drug that seems to mimic the benefits of exercise. Lazy mice given the drug for one month were able to increase the distance they could run on a treadmill by 44 percent.
To summarize, if couch potatoes get their way they might soon be able to load up on guilt-free junk food, wash it down with a glass of healthy alcohol, work off the extra pounds by popping an exercise pill and enjoy a nice after-dinner electronic cigarette. Only in America. So how many insurance agents does it take to change a consumer's behavior? None -- the consumer has to want to change. And even then, she probably won't.
