The U.S. will spend almost $10,000 per person on health care this year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s a whopping $3 trillion annual projection, making our country a health care high roller compared to the rest of the world.
Yet, as The Commonwealth Fund points out, our nation’s actual health is poor. Americans have a higher frequency of chronic diseases - many of which are preventable - and have shorter life expectancies compared to our international counterparts. So what are we going to do about it?
Preventative medicine could be the answer to our health care woes. According to Gain Life - a startup operating out of the Harvard iLab that provides “lifestyle medicine” - changing people’s mindsets is going to be key to making any preventative medicine measures effective. But U.S. employers and individuals are coming around to this new take on health care, as more success stories support these programs as a long-term solution to wellness issues.
Why health care should be customized
Gain Life Co-Founders Sean Eldridge and John Peters - the latter of whom has a PhD and specializes in metabolic science - came together to make an impact in preventative medicine. From prior experience at companies like Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble and WeightWatchers focused on health care, they knew medicine as we know it isn’t the end-all and be-all to wellness. They noted that weight loss and other lifestyle changes can effectively mitigate many of the most chronic diseases affecting people.
Eldridge explained their rationale, asking, “Why is it that health care, unlike all other consumer goods and services, is one-size-fits-all?”
Gain Life is making preventative medicine personal. The startup offers separate 16-week programs for men and women - called ManUp and PowerUp, respectively - which make behavioral changes more appealing and engaging to each gender in their own special way. But the Gain Life team goes one step further: Their programs are tailored to individuals, what’s going on in their own lives and how they tend to cope.
“We’re offering truly personalized health care,” Eldridge explained. “It goes beyond gender and is catered to each individual...In the beginning, we have people take a 30-minute questionnaire to figure out what makes them tick, what their lives look like, what’s going on in their families, what stresses them.”
“We can personalize it right from the start,” he continued. “They continue to communicate their struggles and successes throughout the program, and we can keep making changes to make it work for them.”
Changing behavior for good
Gain Life recognizes that programs can tell you to quit smoking, eat better, drink less and move more, but they don’t get to the root of the problem. If people don’t address their underlying mindset and behavioral tendencies surrounding poor lifestyle habits, long-term success in maintaining their health isn’t likely.
To reshape people’s mindsets, Gain Life is applying tactics from behavioral science, including cognitive behavioral therapy and positive psychology. However, the startup inconspicuously incorporates behavioral modification, so it doesn’t feel like a shrink session.
“It’s presented to them in bite-sized chunks,” Eldridge said. “They’re insightful and make them go deeper to uncover their intrinsic behavioral motivations - without even noticing. People generally think it’s a diet when they start, but around week 12, they realize, ‘This isn’t a diet at all. I am a totally different person now.’”
“It’s more about how you think about the broader world and how you personally navigate through it,” he went on. “It teaches you techniques and tactics that aren’t specific to health, but are critical to changing your health.”
A culture shift won't happen overnight
Preventative medicine is still a relatively new perspective on health care, so it’s going to take time for some people to warm up to this school of thought. As it starts to gain traction and produce proven results, though, it could become more attractive to employers, insurance companies and individual consumers.
“It’s not going to be an overall culture shift right away,” Eldridge expressed. “But the more success stories people hear about, the more people are going to say, ‘Hey, that seems interesting to me.’”
Even more incentive for people to participate in lifestyle programs like Gain Life is money. With recent health insurance trends causing consumers to pay more out of pocket, it could give people the push they need to change their ways.
“As more employers move to high-deductible health plans, individuals are going to feel it in their wallet and want to do something about it,” Eldridge asserted. “If individuals have to think, ‘Now that I’m responsible for the X, Y and Z medications that I wouldn’t need if I got my health under control,’ they’ll be more likely to take action.”
Images via Gain Life.
