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March 01, 2007
Even Empowered Consumers Require Activation
by Holly Heline Jarrell
We consumers have never been more empowered to maintain personal health. Our ability to find, filter and digest massive amounts of information, our access to the latest scientific and medical developments, and the national spirit of self-reliance that has permeated American society since the mid-1990s should all add up to a nation equipped to achieve better health. Yet, a very recent Harris Poll suggests that empowerment doesn’t always lead to positive action (see link: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=734 ).
The February 27 longitudinal poll among more than 2000 Americans puts added weight behind the obesity crisis: Since 1983, the proportion of people aged 25-plus who are obese has risen from 15% to 37% - an increase of 147%. Likewise, the percentage who are merely overweight rose from 59% in 1983 to 81% today.
By contrast, smoking is down to 23% of the public – but that’s only a 6-point decline over 24 years. And as Harris Interactive rightly points out, the big story here is not the change, but the slowness of change. Slowness despite abundant knowledge and educational resources – the real tools of empowerment.
The Harris Poll aptly demonstrates that when it comes to real change in personal health, consumers don’t just need to be empowered, they need to be activated.
Posted by holly_heline_jarrell at March 1, 2007 05:17 PM
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