South Beach Diet author blasts U.S. sick-care system

Monday, March 12, 2007 by: M. T. Whitney
Tags: health care industry, South Beach Diet, sick care system

(NewsTarget) Arthur Agatston, the creator of the South Beach Diet, blasted the U.S. health care system's handling of heart diseases, saying it focuses on treating, rather than preventing, cardiovascular issues. Agatston is calling for a new direction in the medical system to help the aging Baby Boomer population before their medical needs overwhelm it.

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What you need to know - Conventional View

• Artery bypasses and angioplasties pump about $50 billion into the health care system yearly, according to Reuters. Agatston believes both procedures are preventable, but hospitals likely are not willing to let go of the revenues.

• Agatston stresses a high-fiber Mediterranean diet to boost cardiovascular health.

• An estimated 70 million Americans will be 65 or older by 2030, almost double the number of seniors today.

• Between 1946 and 1964, an estimated 76 million Americans were born; this generation still makes up nearly 30 percent of the overall U.S. population.

• "We have a trend here where the Baby Boomers are reaching the coronary age group, not to mention the age group of cancer," Agatston told the Reuters news service. "At the same time, individual health-care costs are rising rapidly, and primary care doctors are going out of business and they're not being replaced," he said. "These trends to me are colliding in a way that is going to break the bank."

Resources you need to know

• The official South Beach Diet website: http://www.southbeachdiet.com

Bottom line

• Arthur Agatston blasts the U.S. health care system for focusing on managing heart disease with profitable drugs rather than preventing it.