ANH latest infographic on pharma and natural health perspectives of Alzheimer’s, obesity, hypertension and cholesterol.
Globally it’s estimated one billion people will be obese by 2030. More than 42 million UK adults (71% of the population) could be overweight or obese by 2040, according to a shocking report released by Cancer Research UK earlier this year. The UK government’s response is to throw vast amounts of taxpayer’s money at developing new technological and pharmaceutical fixes. In the hope of doing what’s never been done before: not just tackling obesity and its associated diseases, but miraculously also stemming the growing levels of cancer, mental health illness and addictions. Sound feasible?
While research commissioned by World Economic Forum partner, the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) highlighted at its recent summit the urgent need to invest in developing sustainable and resilient global systems of healthcare, albeit in the context of covid, these global initiatives are a million miles away from considering decentralised, sustainable solutions that build resilience into communities, by working with nature, not against it.
Rather than encouraging people to take control of their health so demand for over-subscribed healthcare services can be reduced, the current system provides a never ending sales pipeline for the pharmaceutical industry. This in turn helps finance the revolving door with government agencies (here and here), as they seek approval for shiny, new products, often of marginal effectiveness.
The media trumpets the efficacy of its latest candidate drugs, often through the manipulated interpretation of corrupted science (e.g. such as quoting relative, instead of absolute, risk reduction). The public buys into the promises sold to them, and when the new, extortionately-priced, patented drugs finally hit the market, healthcare services buy them up and feed them to a primed and salivating public. This well-oiled propaganda machine remains mute about the alternatives available to those who might wish to opt for a more natural approach to managing their health.
In our infographic below we’ve brought this divergent communication to life using examples of what the media pushes in terms of drug-based treatments for common conditions, alongside the information it’s less enthusiastic to share which could turn healthcare as we know it on its head!
