Being free improves your health, and being healthy preserves your freedom

Author:
BruceBlaus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity#/media/File:Obesity_%26_BMI.png


My last posts were about financial freedom, because working from 9 to 5, and being anxious about the job situation does not improve anyone's health.

However, I have to underscore the fact that without good health one cannot easily achieve financial freedom in the U.S. If you want to be ready for your early retirement, just remember that the major preventable risk factor for cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (the top three killers in the developed countries) is overweight/obesity. So, along with charting your growing net worth, start charting your weight!

Just look at the most recent title on the health front: Being overweight or obese could cause around 700,000 new UK cancers by 2035. According to the 2012 statistics, in the U.S., 3.5% and 9.5% of the cancer cases are linked to excessive body weight in men and women, respectively. Of course, these statistics exclude the other consequences of obesity: metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

Therefore, when you embark on your financial endeavor to get out of the regimented workforce, also make plans to check whether you are a healthy weight.

Another self-help website is this of Washington University School of Medicine that allows you to measure your risk of cancer, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, emphysema, heart disease, osteoporosis, and stroke.

In future posts, I am planning on looking into recipes that (a) do not betray your dedication to frugality, and (b) keep your health intact or even improve it. Meanwhile, if you have specific dietary questions, the answer might be here. You could also peruse some of our previous posts on obesity, including this one on cancer and obesity, and this one on childhood obesity.