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by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.
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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Revisited: From A Wellness Perspective, Are We Better Off Now Than 100 Years Ago? (Encore)

Monday September 9, 2002

Politicians are fond of asking "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" -- or whenever the other political party was in power. A variation of this question, from a self-management perspective, might be "Are we better off today than those who were living a century ago?" Of course, we could ask the same question about those who lived a millennium ago or 100,000 years ago, but it would be harder to have much confidence in assessments made regarding such poorly understood, distant eras. Still, what criteria shall we apply to make such comparisons that go back but one century?

From a wellness or self-management perspective, I'd suggest we form first impressions based on quality of life issues. Also, is it more likely that we can choose, or for whatever reasons, experience lifestyles consistent with wellness principles now, in 2002, than was the case 100 years ago? In short, which of the two eras in American history seem more favorable for wellness, in terms of agreeable social, environmental and other factors?

This is a challenge worthy of a doctoral dissertation, a book or a major motion picture! However, a brief essay or "DR" will have to do for now!

For starters, here are the factors that seem to give the edge, from a wellness or quality of life perspective, to the folks who were around a century ago. (Of course, you might also keep in mind that no matter how much you might have enjoyed life 100 years ago, if you had done so then you'd be dead now!)

Advantage 1900:

There were only 8,000 cars. This meant more parking spaces, less gridlock, pollution and crashes than we have today. Also, it would have been better for pedestrians and bikers, since the maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. (I often travel nearly three times that speed on my triathlon bike, though this could prove difficult on 20th century roads, not to mention the bikes of that era.)
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. This is a good thing for the 1.4 million people living in California -- lots of space, no urban sprawl and no smog, even in LA.
Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound. While a dollar went a long way, they were harder to obtain. The average wage in the US was twenty-two cents an hour. The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year! An accountant could make $2000 per year, a dentist $2500, a veterinarian $1500 to $4000 and a mechanical engineer about $5000 per year. No data are available on salaries of Internet hosts.
Heart disease and stroke were not the leading diseases that killed people. Unfortunately, pneumonia and influenza, tuberculosis and diarrhea were the three leading causes of death, so this is not such a great trade off.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was thirty. This was a great opportunity for astute land speculators to buy up some prime sites and make a killing in the future boomtown. However, they would have to pay taxes on empty lots for about a half-century before things got going.
Promoters of supplements, holistic remedies and varied snake oils had better raw materials available that were fully legal at the time. These included marijuana, heroin and morphine. These over-the-counter remedies were promoted as follows, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." That's what folks who don't want to go to the trouble of self-managing need today -- a few products that are perfect "guardians of health."
Coca-Cola contained cocaine instead of caffeine. Let's face it -- consumer surveys show that people overwhelmingly prefer REAL coke.
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic. This is a positive factor only for those in the 18 percent category, not for the servants or domestics.

On the other hand, have a look at the factors that I think give the edge to us.

Advantage 2000:

We can expect to live 76 years, more or less, depending. The average life expectancy 100 years ago was 47.
Only 14% of homes had a bathtub. Showers were not available, either.
Only 8% of homes had a telephone -- and a long distance call (for example, from Denver to New York City lasting three minutes cost eleven dollars.)
There were only 144 miles of paved roads on which to take those 8,000 cars I mentioned earlier.
Ninety percent of physicians had no college education. They attended what the press and government viewed as substandard medical schools.
Insulin and antibiotics hadn't been discovered yet.
One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6% graduated from high school.

We have a national wellness conference, wellness books, Internet sites and legions of health promotion experts. I think the latter is an advantage, but there might be times when it is not!

All in all, it seems that the present offers more opportunities for living a life marked by improved conditions for optimal health than ever before, and certainly more so than was the case a century ago. Make the most of your opportunities. Choose wellness -- and be as well and engaged in life as possible.

Cheers. Look on the bright side of life. Maybe it will be even easier to live a wellness lifestyle 100 years from now, but that won't matter for you, so seize the present day.

Domain: mental
Subdomain: mental health

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