Technology is going to disrupt the health-care experience, and it will enable us to have a highly detailed understanding of our core health numbers through advances in things like wearables, remote monitoring and electronic health records. But opening apps on your phone will only go so far.
Changing unhealthy behaviors starts with the individual. We all need to manage our health with the same vigilance we use for financial planning. We should know our BMI numbers as well as our 401(k) balances.
A great starting point is the Simple 7, a series of seven simple, inexpensive measures from the American Heart Association you can take to improve your health. The Simple 7 covers the fundamental basics, such as how to eat better and lose weight. But they also dive into important measures such as managing blood pressure, reducing blood sugar and controlling cholesterol and the steps that can be taken to getting these important health measures under control.
If we understand and change unhealthy behaviors today, our health won’t be holding us back when it comes time for retirement. We can all spend less on health in retirement because we’ve minimized our chances for multiple chronic conditions.
Now that’s a retirement worth planning for.
Bruce D. Broussard is president and chief executive officer, Humana
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Source : CNBC
