Letter: Prevent disease through diet and exercise

Regarding the July 24 article 'Experts say U.S. has a weak health care system”:

I wonder where the U.S. stands in regards to a health improvement system, including prevention of disease through diet and exercise.

Instead of building more clinics and hospitals, and developing more drugs to treat illness, how about taking that money and spending it on educating people, beginning at a young age, on the value of eating healthy, plant based food, and getting exercise.

Some ideas are to spend more money on walking/biking trails, and modify the school lunch program to incorporate the latest scientific studies findings instead of listening to the lobbyists who sit on the boards of the various egg, milk, beef and pork industries and financially benefit from pumping our young people full of unhealthy food.

The information on improving our health is out there but for some reason the politicians and media seem to be focused on treatment of disease versus prevention. To support this observation just notice how many articles there are in the paper, or on TV, focused on the treatment/costs of illness versus the prevention of illness. Also, the next time you watch TV notice how many drug commercials there are versus how many commercials deal with improving diet or exercise. It's not a coincidence that McDonalds/Burger King commercials are immediately followed by a drug commercial informing people how to lower their cholesterol, or to treat their diabetes.

Lonnie Bazal

Cedar Rapids