7 in 8 (88%) American adults are metabolically unhealthy and most are unaware of their status. Metabolically unhealthy is defined as having one of the following – blood sugar, waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol, or triglycerides – outside a defined healthy range. Poor metabolic health leaves people vulnerable to developing chronic conditions over a long period without warning signs leading to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other chronic conditions. In the U.S., 6 in 10 people have at least 1 chronic condition and 4 in 10 adults have multiple chronic conditions. More to the point, 37.3 million adults (about 1 in 10) live with Diabetes and, unfortunately, 20% of diabetics live undiagnosed. Worse, 96 million adults (more than 1 in 3) have prediabetes and more than 80% don’t know they have it.
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Today’s health care is actually “sick care.” Patients only “enter” the system when they are diagnosed with a chronic disease (become sick). Then physicians engage and offer medications or procedures to help “manage” the problem. Major chronic diseases continue to grow catastrophically, generating vast populations of sick people who are less happy, less productive, and based on the current health care approach, eventually require expensive treatments and medications that employers are anxious to contain. 75% of healthcare expense is associated with 1/3 of employees dealing with chronic diseases.
The best way to deal with chronic disease is to prevent it, or find ways to slow its progression; even reverse it when possible. SelectWell® is here to transform health management and address chronic disease.