I was stopped at a red-light at the ITC intersection one evening when I noticed a large group of individuals in the Tamuning park actively engaged in a hula dance class. Close by, there were lively basketball and pickleball games going on, while others utilized the newly installed outdoor gym equipment.
As a physician, it was a beautiful sight to see, so many people outside physically active, socializing, and just having a great time.
It made me think about how Guam could be health-wise if that was commonplace. I imagined our friends and family not having to suffer with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, depression. How nice would it be if one day, we could just eliminate these diseases altogether?
Prevention is often talked about but rarely put to the forefront of chronic disease management.
Diet and exercise, two of the most powerful interventions we have are heavily underutilized as an actual treatment. Instead, we turn to medications which long term are no match for an active lifestyle and high-quality nutrition.
A healthy community is a more productive one. In addition, less money spent on high-cost health care utilization could lead to much needed dollars directed elsewhere. However, noncommunicable disease continues to dominate our island.
Diabetes-related costs in the U.S. for 2022 was roughly $412.9 billion. In 10 years, that number is expected to skyrocket.
On Guam, we face a similar financial threat. If something is not done now, our already fragile healthcare system will be severely compromised, leading to more unnecessary suffering and death.
What’s so frustrating about all this is that the solution is quite simple. Diet and exercise, that’s it. But there’s a huge barrier in place that we have yet to break down as medical professionals and as a community. Things have to change.
If we’re gonna tell people to go out and exercise, we must provide an environment that sets them up for success, safe streets and sidewalks to walk on, clean parks and playground equipment for our children to go to, funding for village sports programs, well-kept facilities, etc.
Considering the benefits, these are small investments with huge returns. Lying sedentary at home in fear of crime, stray dogs, or just having nowhere to go is a recipe for disaster.
The same goes for diet. Access to healthy affordable food options is a major challenge in Guam. People want to eat healthy but either can’t afford it or it’s just not readily available.
We spend millions of dollars every year on pharmaceutical drugs and hospital visits but are doing little to improve accessibility to nutritious foods. Food is medicine!
Educating our children can be a game changer. Childhood obesity is up to 20%, 1 in every 5 is diagnosed. In the Guam Department of Education, we have the unique privilege of having either a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse in every school.
Creating school-based exercise and nutrition programs not only leads to a healthier life physically but can also improve mental health, a growing concern amongst our youth. Educators must realize the lasting impact they can have on a child, and the differences they can make in the grand scheme of things.
In order to make this happen, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach. Everyone in the government, private sector, and elsewhere need to come together to figure this out.
Otherwise, I’m not looking forward to 2034 and the grave predictions that may eventually come true. What a nightmare that would be.