Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian

We have a $3.6 trillion healthcare system and frankly, you can't make as much money on prevention as you can on treatment.

We have a $3.6 trillion healthcare system and frankly, you can't make as much money on prevention as you can on treatment.

We have a $3.6 trillion healthcare system and frankly, you can't make as much money on prevention as you can on treatment.

We all agree that prevention's important, but why has it not been that policymakers sort of elevated, why haven't they elevated this issue to the top? And I came up with a couple of reasons that I'd be happy to share. I think the first is, and you touched on this, a lot of policymakers are just reactive in general, and prevention requires a proactive approach.

We all agree that prevention's important, but why has it not been that policymakers sort of elevated, why haven't they elevated this issue to the top? And I came up with a couple of reasons that I'd be happy to share. I think the first is, and you touched on this, a lot of policymakers are just reactive in general, and prevention requires a proactive approach.

We all agree that prevention's important, but why has it not been that policymakers sort of elevated, why haven't they elevated this issue to the top? And I came up with a couple of reasons that I'd be happy to share. I think the first is, and you touched on this, a lot of policymakers are just reactive in general, and prevention requires a proactive approach.

And the reason they're reactive is whether you're in the executive branch or you're a member of Congress, there are oftentimes so many emergencies, either real or imagined, or crises, or political controversies, that oftentimes you spend a lot of time reacting. Putting out the fire. Absolutely. As opposed to thinking about proactive policies to improve health.

And the reason they're reactive is whether you're in the executive branch or you're a member of Congress, there are oftentimes so many emergencies, either real or imagined, or crises, or political controversies, that oftentimes you spend a lot of time reacting. Putting out the fire. Absolutely. As opposed to thinking about proactive policies to improve health.

And the reason they're reactive is whether you're in the executive branch or you're a member of Congress, there are oftentimes so many emergencies, either real or imagined, or crises, or political controversies, that oftentimes you spend a lot of time reacting. Putting out the fire. Absolutely. As opposed to thinking about proactive policies to improve health.

And then prevention oftentimes takes time as well. So you have to have that patience. And oftentimes the results are, at least from a public health perspective, are often invisible when things are working and health is being protected. And so I think the first reason is that the mindset of policymakers needs to shift from being reactive to proactive.

And then prevention oftentimes takes time as well. So you have to have that patience. And oftentimes the results are, at least from a public health perspective, are often invisible when things are working and health is being protected. And so I think the first reason is that the mindset of policymakers needs to shift from being reactive to proactive.

And then prevention oftentimes takes time as well. So you have to have that patience. And oftentimes the results are, at least from a public health perspective, are often invisible when things are working and health is being protected. And so I think the first reason is that the mindset of policymakers needs to shift from being reactive to proactive.

The second reason is it could very well be that policymakers are just not as attuned to the evidence base, whether it's lifestyle medicine, whether it's prevention, whether it's a social determinants of health. Understanding the evidence now that has been generated about the effects of all of these other modalities, I think is critical.

The second reason is it could very well be that policymakers are just not as attuned to the evidence base, whether it's lifestyle medicine, whether it's prevention, whether it's a social determinants of health. Understanding the evidence now that has been generated about the effects of all of these other modalities, I think is critical.

The second reason is it could very well be that policymakers are just not as attuned to the evidence base, whether it's lifestyle medicine, whether it's prevention, whether it's a social determinants of health. Understanding the evidence now that has been generated about the effects of all of these other modalities, I think is critical.

And when you don't know the evidence, then you tend to think, well, that might be a slush fund. Those dollars in prevention might be a slush fund and why should we support it? There are others then, as you said, who may think of prevention as, you're right, part of the nanny state. Prevention is about individual responsibility and the government shouldn't be involved.

And when you don't know the evidence, then you tend to think, well, that might be a slush fund. Those dollars in prevention might be a slush fund and why should we support it? There are others then, as you said, who may think of prevention as, you're right, part of the nanny state. Prevention is about individual responsibility and the government shouldn't be involved.

And when you don't know the evidence, then you tend to think, well, that might be a slush fund. Those dollars in prevention might be a slush fund and why should we support it? There are others then, as you said, who may think of prevention as, you're right, part of the nanny state. Prevention is about individual responsibility and the government shouldn't be involved.

So I think those are a couple of reasons, but then I think it goes beyond that. Prevention and public health, they require resources. And right now in this country, if you look at our national health expenditure accounts, only about 3% of our dollars go to public health. Only about 5% go to primary and secondary prevention.

So I think those are a couple of reasons, but then I think it goes beyond that. Prevention and public health, they require resources. And right now in this country, if you look at our national health expenditure accounts, only about 3% of our dollars go to public health. Only about 5% go to primary and secondary prevention.