The top two causes of death in the U.S. have been heart disease and cancer for years. Treatments for both conditions are expensive, so it would be better for American citizens if they could avoid contracting these diseases entirely.

Preventive care is a type of healthcare that focuses on detecting and preventing diseases before they become serious. It generally consists of checkups and vaccines, as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as getting adequate exercise, having a healthy diet and avoiding tobacco.

While heart disease and cancer can still occur despite these preventive measures, healthy living greatly reduces the chances that a person will suffer from these conditions. Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 80% of cardiovascular disease cases could have been prevented as of 2024, indicating that many Americans do not have a healthy lifestyle.

This issue can be resolved through our education system. Students are usually educated on the dangers of smoking and drug use, and in physical education classes exercise is encouraged. However, there are ways schools can improve their ability to encourage healthy living.

Marcia Berke, an instructor in the health studies department, suggests an improvement for health education.

“A lot of schools, I think social norming is a good way. In other words, a policy or advertisement in a school would say ‘80% of our kids do not approve of vaping or do not drink and drive,’ rather than saying 20% of the kids do it,” Berke said. “You see what I mean? You’re going for the positive norm, which is I don’t do it, I don’t approve of it, I don’t text and drive, I don’t vape.”

Berke also approves of recess and outdoor activity for middle school students.

“When you don’t have that activity, that’s what harms your academics. There’s a lot of studies on activity, brain research and academics. Kids do much better with learning with physical breaks  like brain breaks and recess and activities,” Berke said. “There were studies done within some high schools and middle schools with reading or math right after recess, and those scores were significantly higher than at other times.”

People don’t stay in school forever, however. Adults can still become addicted to harmful substances or fall into unhealthy habits, so they too must be encouraged to maintain their health.

Elizabeth Moxley, an associate professor of nursing, proposes evaluating and prescribing physical activity during medical examinations.

“There are some researchers who have recommended physical activity as a vital sign. And so this would start with the physician’s office, where the physician would recommend, and besides an exercise prescription, they would also assess exercise during a medical examination,” Moxley said.

A vital sign is a measurement of basic bodily functions that are usually examined during a checkup, such as heart rate and temperature, to detect potential medical issues. Evaluating how much exercise a patient receives may help doctors better determine and prevent the risk of their patients contracting preventable illnesses.

“The doctor might say, when you have a visit, how much activity you get on a weekly basis, and then they might recommend, based on your health condition, your state of health, and what you’re currently involved in, they might recommend getting three days a week of moderate intensity exercise, like 40 minutes, and then one day a week of more high intensity, but that would be a short duration, like say, four minutes at a very high intensity, four minutes rest and you do that four times,” Moxley said.

A change in social norms could be used to encourage adults to maintain healthy lifestyles as well, such as creating advertisements to suggest healthy behaviors or workplaces sending reminders to employees to take care of their own health.

Social media is one method of directing society toward this change. The government could sponsor advertising for proven, easy and cost-efficient methods the average citizen can use to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Reducing the strain on the U.S. healthcare system is one way the government’s annual spending could be reduced, so it would benefit the U.S. government as well.

Ultimately, the U.S. government and its people benefit from good public health, and the cost is minimal if the public focuses on staying healthy instead of treating illness.