Return on Investment for Health, Business and the Body, Part 2

In the first part of this series, we explored health assets (like low blood pressure and bone density) and liabilities (extra weight and LDL cholesterol). Obviously, we want more assets than liabilities. The good news is that healthy behaviors enhance many assets at once.

With the many choices available, how do you decide what health behaviors will do you the most good? We’ll look to the financial world again and use the concept of Return on Investment (ROI).

ROI equals Gain divided by the Cost. So if you invest $100 and gain $20, the ROI is 20%. In the world of personal care, it’s hard to quantify gain. However, we make decisions about ROI every day. For example, what’s a good hair cut worth? Some people pay $18 and others pay $60. In both cases, the return is worth it to the purchaser. Although the value of being vibrant and strong in later years will vary from person to person, most would consider the Gain to be excellent.

Likewise, the Cost of activities such as exercise and eating healthy will be valued differently based on the inputs: time, money, effort, and convenience. However, you can still apply logical criteria.

It’s lunch time during a busy day and you have choices. Do you make a salad chock full of nutritious vegetables, grab a burger from the corner fast food place, or microwave a bowl of soup?

Salad: Gain = High (Low fat and calories, high nutrition, fiber)
Cost = High (Time to buy, prepare and assemble ingredients)
ROI = Fair

Burger: Gain = Low (Probably includes trans fats, low nutrition and fiber)
Cost = Medium (Money)
ROI = Poor

Soup: Gain = High (Good nutrition)
Cost = Medium (Fairly convenient and low cost)
ROI = Good

If you find the best return for the lowest cost, you’ll add to your health net worth. Of course, some health behaviors have a very high cost—a colonoscopy comes to mind—but, like many preventive measures, the benefit is so high, it’s worth it. You’ll also get healthier by eliminating activities that have a high cost and low return, such as harmful exercise. For me, that’s jogging more than a mile since I have to factor in the cost of injury to my weak knees.

Unlike purchasing a stock, health decisions are completely personal, especially for exercise. Jogging isn’t great for me, but it has a high return and low cost for others. Within the five components of physical fitness (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition, and flexibility), you’ll get the greatest return on the component that you neglect the most. Since I avoid cardio, a brisk walk or bike ride will give me the greatest gain.

Look for high health gains and start with the behaviors that have low cost. You won’t be able to buy groceries or a new purse with your return, but you will be able to spend a few more enjoyable years on this planet.

Resource:
5 components of physical fitness—Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/components/

Build Your Health Net Worth, Business and the Body, Part 1

(Part 1 of 3 in a Series of Business Principles Applied to Personal Health Status)

Health is more important than money, but money gets more attention in this world. As I’m spending hours to prepare my financial statements and tax records, it occurs to me that this process of taking stock of assets and liabilities can be applied to the realm of wellbeing.

Logic rarely rules matters of health. Instead our fitness behaviors tend to fluctuate like blood sugar, riding on emotional waves of whether we feel like exercising or eating healthy or taking care of ourselves at all. You can control the waves and build your personal health net worth with the good sense of health accounting.

Net worth equals assets minus liabilities. Obviously, you want to expand your health assets and reduce the liabilities. In the financial world, assets include money, real estate, and investments. In terms of health, your assets include your genes and health factors, including lung capacity, bone density, muscle strength, structural alignment, vitamin reserves, and liver health—the type of things your doctor would measure in a physical exam. If your test results aren’t good, these same items turn into health liabilities: high blood pressure or cholesterol and low bone density or lung capacity. Think of liabilities as risks, such as clogged arteries, obesity, and smoking.

Our medical system focuses on finding and changing health liabilities, often with prescription medication as the treatment. Rarely does this turn a liability into an asset though. It’s frequently just an adjustment that makes the health books look balanced.

Creating real assets takes effort, but it doesn’t have to be hard work.

How do you lower blood pressure, increase bone density, and improve structural alignment? It’s no surprise that the answer is being physically active. Not necessarily jogging or doing step aerobics, but keeping your body moving at a moderate level on a regular basis.

Here’s another example. How do you lower LDL cholesterol, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce liver toxicity? If you eliminate trans fats from your diet, such as shortening and partially hydrogenated oils used in many cookies and crackers, you will tip the scales in favor of assets on all three accounts.

(As an interesting aside, the number one health tip on the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease’s web page is to avoid taking unnecessary medications, https://www.aasld.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=AASLD3&WebKey=8c1ffc92-5d65-41af-baaf-7af5967ebf70.)

When you work toward improving your health, one positive action will produce multiple good results, because health behavior affects many assets at once. It’s as though you are buying a piece of property that will create positive cash flow from the start. Add more assets to the portfolio and you’ll eventually become a health tycoon.

Check in on Wednesday as we evaluate the Return on Investment of several health activities.