We are all familiar with the statistics. Chronic conditions like obesity, hypertension, and diabetes are present in our population at unacceptably high and costly levels. More than 78 million American adults are obese, and more than 1 in 20 is extremely obese. About 70 million U.S. adults have hypertension with only 52 percent having the condition under control. Just over 29 million Americans have diabetes and an additional 86 million have prediabetes. The medical costs of these conditions are staggering – an estimated yearly total of $147 billion for obesity, $42 billion for hypertension, and $245 billion for diabetes. This does not take into account the additional costs of lost productivity, which among obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, are estimated to be greater than $70 billion per year.
One of the successful yet vastly underutilized remedies for all of these conditions is behavior change in the form of dietary and/or activity modifications. The reason behind the lack of success with lifestyle interventions is simple – behavior change is hard. There is however a tool that makes behavior change easier – health coaching. Health coaches have been around for several years, but despite growing evidence of their ability to help people successfully make behavior change, providers are rarely recommending that their patients seek out a health coach. Here is why you should start recommending a health coach to your patients now.
Health coaching works. A 2014 systematic literature review concluded that among adults with chronic diseases, health coaching leads to statistically significant improvements in weight management, physical activity, physical and mental health status. How is this accomplished? Well, a good health coach will take time to get to know a client and his/her goals, and help formulate a plan to help reach those goals. The right coach will guide clients to make well defined, measurable goals, and will keep clients on track by holding them accountable for making forward progress. Health coaching that achieves lasting results uses a personalized approach that fits each individual’s unique life circumstances.
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