I was reading an article the other day and it contained a recommendation that people rush out and get flu shots as quickly as possible, since there might be shortages in certain parts of the country this year.

Scientists of all kinds understand the notion of an order of magnitude. The basic idea is that the scale of things in one context may seem very large, while in another the same scale may seem very small. For instance, the distance to the South Pole may seem like a long way to you. But ‘long way’ is relative. If I compare that distance to the distance to the nearest grocery store, then sure, it’s a long way to the South Pole. But if I instead compare it to the distance to the Moon, then the South Pole is relatively close. In fact, you could walk to your mailbox, you would probably drive to the grocery store, you would fly to the South Pole, and you would need a spaceship to get to the moon. Each of these different modes of transportation is designed for distances of different orders of magnitude. An order of magnitude is a vast difference in scale between two measurements.

What does this have to do with the article I was reading?

The number one cause of death in the United States right now is heart disease, which accounts for one third of all deaths. Right behind it is cancer, accounting for one in four deaths. That means roughly one out of every two deaths in America is from heart disease or cancer. Within the cancer umbrella, there are cancers that are very common (breast, prostate, skin, and lung, to name a few) and cancers that are very rare (kidney cancer, for instance); we’re interested in total cancer deaths for the sake of this argument.

By comparison, influenza (of all kinds) accounts for only one in 37 deaths in a given year. If you remove those over 65 from the statistics, the fatality rate for influenza is insignificant.

There is an order of magnitude difference between deaths related to influenza and deaths related to heart disease. If you take care of your heart by eating well, exercising, and not abusing drugs and alcohol, then you don’t need to worry about heart disease and can concern yourself with less likely diseases. However, if you don’t take care of your heart, then it makes no sense to spend much energy avoiding influenza.

And this is exactly what was wrong with the article. Without an order-of-magnitude context, the concerns raised about flu shots were frightening to most people reading the article, even though they didn’t apply to many of them. The majority of people in our culture should be focusing on the Big Two (heart disease and major cancers) because they haven’t been treating their bodies with the basic respect necessary to avoid common health problems. Worrying about something that is much less common to begin with adds stress and effort without addressing the most basic issues of general diet and lifestyle. It’s sort of like trying to walk to the South Pole if you’ve never even tried to walk to the next town… the perspective is all wrong. And, by staying healthy in general, the risks associated with influenza are also greatly decreased as a side-effect.

Please don’t misunderstand: I’m not advocating ignoring the flu. I’m simply saying that there are other things you should be more focused on first… if you aren’t taking care of the basics, don’t get all concerned about flu vaccinations. I mean this in the same way that if you aren’t checking the oil in your car engine regularly, then it doesn’t make sense to use high-grade fuel… dirty oil will kill your engine much faster than lower-octane fuel will.

I advocate always staying abreast of the latest findings regarding what foods are good for us, what lifestyle choices make for healthier living, and so on. When you do, however, keep everything in perspective. The most important things you should be doing come down to a simple strategy: eat a low-fat, high-fibre diet of natural foods, take vitamins, exercise often, use sunscreen, and keep your stress to a minimum. If you do these things daily, you can expect to be healthy for a long, happy life.

Resources:

• The most common causes of death in the United States
• Flu Vaccine Shortage Leads to Concern
• Lowering the Age for Routine Influenza Vaccination to 50 Years: AAFP Leads the Nation in Influenza Vaccine Policy

Other news

• Better than coffee: A Fitness Wake-Up Call
• Yet another clue our bodies aren’t meant to live on a high-protein diet: Could low-carb diets lead to birth defects?
• So if I’m often caught picking up candy bars at the check-out counter…? Impulsive Behavior Linked to Risk of Alcoholism

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff