Join the club: The power of community can make us healthier

SPONSORED:This sponsored post is produced in association with Humana">Humana. Half of American adults have at least one chronic disease, such as diabetes, obesity, or heart disease. The Center of Disease Control estimates that these illnesses make up 70% of deaths in the U.S. Chronic diseases not only cause pain and daily activity limitations for the individual, but are also a huge economic burden for society. Several risk factors for chronic diseases are well known: smoking, lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition. These are factors everyone has a chance to take control over. However, often we fail to do so. So how can unhealthy habits be changed? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tina Rosenberg’s argues in her book, Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World, that the search for status and peer approval is the most powerful motivator of our personal behavior. This can then be used to encourage good habits. Peer pressure fighting the good fight, if you will. Ro
http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/29/join-the-club-using-the-power-of-community-to-make-us-healthier/