Invest in your health now or prepare to dish out your cash for health care later. A new study by researchers at RTI International, a non-profit research institute in North Carolina, calculated that a 50-year-old newly-diagnosed diabetes patient spends over $4,000 more on medical care each year than someone the same age without diabetes. Those costs jump about $200 annually. One reason for the escalating totals is because of complications related to the disease, which especially impacts your kidney and heart health.
“The good news is that many of these costs could be contained through proper diabetes management and lifestyle changes,” lead author Justin Trogdon said in an American Diabetes Association news release.
The bottom line: Don’t wait to join a gym. Invest in exercise equipment and seek out a nutritionist, because feeling good and looking good pay off big time.