Boise (670 KBOI News) – Last week, we had a story for you about a Georgetown University report that found about 1/5 of Idaho women don’t have access to healthcare.

In that report, a researcher downplayed the role diet and exercise play in keeping high blood pressure and diabetes under control.

But Central District Health Department dietician Erin Green says unfortunately, too many in the medical field see medication as the answer to health issues, not the individual taking responsibility for their own health.

“Unfortunately our healthcare system isn’t necessarily structured that way,” said Green.  “The message often gets lost because of things like this, ‘oh, there;s just a pill I can take for that…and it goes away immediately.’  Well, it doesn’t go away.  May be it manages symptoms, but that condition still exists until you treat the underlying problem.”

She says other benefits to losing weight and getting in shape include reducing the risk of deep vein thrombosis, helping minimize or prevent infections, and creating a sense of general mental well-being.

— Jay Howell, 670 KBOI News