With all the talk of an economic slowdown, what does this actually mean to our health?

Well a recent study has indicated that potential economic hardship is making people look at their health as a lower priority. Take these examples from a recent survey whichfound that Americans over the age of 45 were:

• delaying seeing a doctor (22%);
• cutting back on preventative health care (16%);
• not filling doctor’s prescription (14%).

While women were no more likely than men to make these these poor health decisions, decisions were not isolated to lower income groups. The same trend was seen across all income groups.

So what exactly does this mean from a corporate wellness point of view? It means that employers need to put even greater emphasis on ensuring that their staff maintain good health over the coming year or two as the economy regains its feet.