The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest has been a wake-up call on the state of our individual and collective health, highlighting health disparities and faults in our health care system and medical schools. Our nation’s lack of health has left us blindsided and vulnerable to the ravages of COVID-19, particularly in minority and underserved communities.
Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S., having reached epidemic proportions. Sixty percent of American adults now live with at least one chronic condition, while 42 percent have more than one. African American adults in particular are more likely to have high blood pressure and diabetes, in part due to the chronic, toxic stress associated with racism. Chronic disease now accounts for as much as 86 percent of all health care expenditures. Yet our health care and medical education systems focus on chronic disease management rather than the health restoration provided by addressing its root-causes. Despite most chronic diseases being caused by unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, training in the pillars of Lifestyle Medicine has been virtually non-existent in medical schools.