In these days of fiscal restraint, the question of whether to prioritize the public funding of wellness or instead prioritize remedying sickness, is portrayed as a fraught one.

People like me have the means, to a large extent, to fund their own wellness – good exercise, quality food, and healthy housing – and the means, largely, to fund (via insurance) their own healthcare costs. Though the latter gets harder the older you get.

But most New Zealanders struggle to pay for many activities related to physical fitness, struggle to pay for good quality food, and struggle to pay for health-related improvements to their homes or afford healthy rental accommodation.

There are some complexities in the relationship between wealth and health, but in general those with more money have the means to be healthier and live longer than those who don’t.

We also live in a society where most of us think that there should be publicly funded healthcare, and more than a ‘safety net’. We think the national purse should help the sick and vulnerable get back on their feet. To use a well-worn metaphor, most think there should be ambulances if we fall, whether over a curb or a cliff.

As to the fence at the top of the cliff (or a fluro-painted curb), well that seems to depend on affordability, who is benefitting from the status quo, and what ideology one subscribes to.

An example is sugary soft drinks. We know sugar is bad in all sorts of ways, including its addictive properties. It seems to me then that it’s a no-brainer to encourage the manufacturers (through tax), and the consumers (through price), to reduce the sweetening content. But others think it should be by individual choice – consumer’s choice and manufacturer’s choice.

Yet, it’s estimated that reducing sugar content in drinks alone would save publicly funded healthcare between $700 million and $2.2 billion per year, depending on the scale and definition of the intervention. So individual choice affects the costs we all bear.

What these figures don’t show, of course, is the queue in the early hours of the morning, just up the road from me, outside the publicly funded emergency dental clinic for low-income adults. Or the many people, in predominantly less wealthy suburbs, who live with the pain and stigma of missing or rotten teeth.

When one begins to delve into the issues of preventative health – exercise, food, and housing – there are many examples where we could build fences rather than buy ambulances.Last week I was in Cairns and came across a brochure, put out by the Regional Council, advertising a range of free exercise classes for a range of ages. You too can Zumba in the water, play beach volleyball, or Qigong for your body, mind, and spirit. All good for the body, good for the mental health, good for community building, and good for not getting sick (and the costs of that). Simple really: investing, in the broadest sense, in wellness.Glynn

Yet, it’s estimated that reducing sugar content in drinks alone would save publicly funded healthcare between $700 million and $2.2 billion per year, depending on the scale and definition of the intervention. So individual choice affects the costs we all bear.

What these figures don’t show, of course, is the queue in the early hours of the morning, just up the road fom me, outside the publicly funded emergency dental clinic for low-income adults. Or the many people, in predominantly less wealthy suburbs, who live with the pain and stigma of missing or rotten teeth.

When one begins to delve into the issues of preventative health – exercise, food, and housing – there are many examples where we could build fences rather than buy ambulances.

Last week I was in Cairns and came across a brochure, put out by the Regional Council, advertising a range of free exercise classes for a range of ages. You too can Zumba in the water, play beach volleyball, or Qigong for your body, mind, and spirit. All good for the body, good for the mental health, good for community building, and good for not getting sick (and the costs of that). Simple really: investing, in the broadest sense, in wellness.

Glynn