Something happened to the public perception of health and medicine in the 1970s. People began to adopt — and financial interests and the media began to profit from – “healthy lifestyles.”
This was not without consequences.
• Americans became increasingly preoccupied with diet, exercise, and health habits.
• There was a big uptick in the use of alternative “medicine” and stress reduction practices – acupuncture, chiropractic, herbalism, naturopathy, nutritional therapies, yoga, massage, biofeedback.
• The increase in news and advice columns on health and wellness made people more anxious about their health.
• The public sought medical care much more frequently for symptoms that would have been considered insignificant in the past.
Was “healthy lifestyles” a medical idea?
Health awareness and anxiety are nothing new. Throughout history people have been concerned about threats to their health. Bubonic plague killed 200 million people. The death rate for women who gave birth in the 19th century was 400 per 100,000 births, compared to 10 per 100,000 today.
