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The World Health Organisation (<keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">WHO</keyword>) has announced that <keyword id="22989608" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="M-Pox" source="keywords">M-Pox</keyword> will continue to be classified as a <keyword id="21952478" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-health-emergency" source="keywords">public health emergency</keyword> of international concern (PHEIC), citing a resurgence in cases and the virus's ongoing geographic spread. The high-alert status initially declared in August, was reaffirmed following a meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee, The Express Tribune reported on Friday. The decision comes as M-Pox cases surge, particularly with the spread of the <keyword id="22875864" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="clade-Ib-variant" source="keywords">clade Ib variant</keyword> beyond its origin in the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring African nations, Europe, and Asia. "Rising case numbers, the continuing geographic spread, and the need for a cohesive response have made it essential to maintain this emergency status," the WHO said in its statement. Confirmed cases of clade Ib have been detected in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and India, highlighting the global scale of the outbreak, reported The Express Tribune. M-Pox, a viral disease transmitted through close contact, presents flu-like symptoms and lesions. Although typically mild, it can be fatal, particularly in regions with inadequate healthcare. Over 46,000 suspected cases have been reported this year in Africa, with Congo accounting for the majority of the more than 1,000 suspected deaths. The new PHEIC declaration underscores the global threat posed by clade Ib and follows earlier alerts related to a separate strain during the 2022-2023 outbreak. In response to growing concerns, the WHO has expanded vaccine authorisations. Bavarian Nordic's <keyword id="24137585" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="M-Pox-vaccine" source="keywords">M-Pox vaccine</keyword> was approved earlier this year, with Japan's KM Biologics' vaccine added to the list of emergency-use vaccines in September. WHO officials have faced criticism for delays in <keyword id="21847727" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vaccine-distribution" source="keywords">vaccine distribution</keyword> but stressed that vaccination remains a cornerstone of global response efforts, The Express Tribune reported. "The emergency status underscores the urgency to mount a unified global response," a WHO spokesperson stated. The organisation urged countries and health partners to collaborate on widespread vaccination campaigns and enhance public awareness to curb the virus's spread effectively.

M-Pox remains public health emergency: WHO

Emissions from residential cooking and heating, power generation, and industries together contribute up to 60 per cent of India's PM2.5 pollution, with about 80 per cent of this coming from <keyword id="23824528" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fossil-fuel-combustion" source="keywords">fossil fuel combustion</keyword>, a new study has found. The peer-reviewed study, published in MDPI's "Air" journal, suggests dividing India into 15 airsheds based on regional climate and pollution sources. An airshed is a geographic area where <keyword id="53848" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-quality" source="Orion">air quality</keyword> is influenced by common factors such as wind patterns and pollution sources. Since pollution can spread across regions, the <keyword id="22077484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="airshed-approach" source="keywords">airshed approach</keyword> promotes coordinated action among states. "Residential cooking and heating, power generation, and all other industries together are responsible for 40-60 per cent of the PM2.5 pollution in all the airsheds, and approximately 80 per cent of the pollution comes from fossil fuel burning sources," said Sarath Guttikunda, lead author of the study and founder of UrbanEmissions.info. The study said biomass burning, including post-harvest crop residue burning, contributed less than 3 per cent to annual PM2.5 levels while transport accounted for 5-10 per cent in all airsheds. PM2.5 are fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, about the width of a human hair. These are so small that these can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, posing significant health risks. An analysis of PM2.5 trends from 1998 to 2020, along with state-level data on fuel consumption, energy demand and emissions, revealed that 11 of the 15 airsheds were critical for India's air quality management and required coordinated interventions. The Indo-Gangetic Plains remain the most polluted region, with significant emissions from residential cooking and heating (especially in winter), power plants, brick kilns (driven by construction demand), waste burning, dust and vehicular movement for passengers and freight. The plateau region between the Eastern and Western Ghats, India's second most populated area, has seen the highest rise in annual PM2.5 pollution during this period, the study said. "This is an indication of the growing urbanisation and demand for transport, industrial, and commercial amenities," it said. Coastal areas, vital to India's industrial economy, have also experienced rising pollution despite the moderating effects of land-sea breezes. This increase is attributed to growing shipping emissions and overall industrial growth in cities such as Mundra, Surat, Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Haldia.

Study traces 60% PM2.5 pollution in India to residential cooking, power generation, industries

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Standing-desk companies are expected to steadily increase their revenue over the next decade.</li><li>A study suggests they may not help reduce the risk of cardiovascular issues like heart disease.</li></ul>A few months into the pandemic, my husband bought us a convertible <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/home/best-standing-desk">standing desk</a>. We were both working from home, and aside from our daily jogs together, we were slouching in our respective work corners for hours.Suddenly, more and more of my coworkers were towering in their Zoom calls. We made small talk about how our new standing desks helped with our posture and prevented us from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-tried-being-more-active-at-work-was-less-productive-2024-8">sitting all day</a>.The trend hasn't died down. The market-research firm Global Market Insights estimated that the standing-desk market was valued at $7.8 billion in 2023 and could increase by 5.5% annually over the next decade. Top retailers like Autonomous, FlexiSpot, and Uplift generate millions of dollars in revenue each year. In its branding materials, Autonomous suggests that "by promoting movement, these desks help you stay active and prevent pain."But after a while, instead of hitting the button to elevate my desk, I found myself sitting all day after my morning workout. While some of my colleagues <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-things-that-happened-after-i-stood-for-3-hours-a-day">felt more energized standing at their desks</a> for three hours, I did not.A <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/53/6/dyae136/7822310">study</a> published on Thursday confronted my conundrum. Ultimately, it suggests that if you're using a standing desk to feel more active and boost your health, the trick is to actually use it to move more, frequently standing and sitting.Using data from more than 80,000 adults in the UK, the researchers found that simply standing didn't necessarily help get people's blood circulating. They also suggest that standing all day — without moving around — may increase the risk of circulatory issues.<h2 id="25df6fac-c6ed-45a7-ab87-bff83d4930d0">Sitting or standing for over 2 hours may not be good for health</h2>The team, led by researchers at the University of Sydney, studied data on 83,013 adults in the UK Biobank, a large database with information about people's genetics, lifestyle, and health. The participants wore accelerometer devices on their wrists to track their movements for one week.The authors concluded that sitting for 10 to 12 hours a day was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and orthostatic circulatory disease, such as varicose veins.Standing for two hours a day wasn't associated with a reduced risk of cardiac conditions like heart failure, stroke, or heart disease — it didn't seem to have much of an effect on cardiovascular health.The study did find that standing for two hours straight was associated with a higher risk of orthostatic circulatory disease, increasing by 11% every additional 30 minutes. The authors suggested that standing for too long every day could lead to long-term issues with blood circulation, such as venous ulcers and swollen veins.<h2 id="9b8e299b-9168-4df9-be6f-5275cf2ba174">It's best to move throughout the day</h2>Desks that let you switch between standing and sitting, such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/home/best-standing-desk-converter">standing-desk converters</a>, can help you change up how you work without committing to one position all day. Home-office upgrades such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/fitness/best-under-desk-treadmills">under-desk treadmills</a> can also make it easier to squeeze in movement throughout the day.Other researchers have recommended <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/daily-exercise-prevent-death-sitting-all-day-2023-10">walking for 22 minutes a day</a>, which can be incorporated into doing household chores or taking the stairs, to help offset the health risks of sitting for long periods.And for those who've felt guilty about never actually raising their standing desk (me), we can feel validated that we're likely not missing out on major health benefits — as long as we take time to walk away from our chairs every day.

Standing desks may not be a boon for health after all

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Omada Health's booming weight loss program could push the startup closer to a public market debut.</li><li>The startup says care for GLP-1 patients has become its most popular front door for new customers.</li></ul>Last spring, diabetes startup Omada Health said it wanted to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/omada-strategy-weight-loss-drugs-semaglutide-ozempic-2023-5">help employers manage patients taking a blockbuster new class of weight-loss drugs</a>.A year later, that business has taken off.Omada Health's metabolic health program has now become the entry point for most new employers considering contracts with Omada Health, Duffy said."The inbound that we get from benefits buyers, the first question is, tell me more about the GLP-1 care track. And that's the thing that turns into the other conversations," Duffy said.Weight loss is now at the forefront of their pitches to employers "even if we don't necessarily want it to be," Duffy said, "because it's the thing. There's such a focus on metabolic care for obesity, and then they're like, oh cool, you guys also do diabetes and hypertension."Launched in 2011, Omada provides virtual care for diabetes, hypertension, musculoskeletal care, and diabetes prevention, alongside obesity, to employers, health plans, and even health systems. The startup is now looking ahead to an IPO, having <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-omada-health-confidentially-filed-s1-ipo-public-2024-10">filed its S-1 this summer</a>, Business Insider first reported in October. Omada previously declined to comment on its IPO plans.But as weight loss pushes Omada closer to a public market debut, Duffy said those contracts with employers haven't looked like what he expected.The startup had initially envisioned that employers would use Omada as a gatekeeper, choosing to pay for buzzy GLP-1 drugs only after a patient had already tried Omada's program, or cutting off the drug coverage after a year and using Omada to help patients maintain their weight loss.But most employers haven't chosen those routes, Duffy said."That's not a common voice. The majority of [our customers] — I actually don't know the reason, but I think it's much simpler — they're choosing to cover the drugs with lifestyle support alongside," Duffy said.<h2 id="d2408f5d-2923-4e91-b037-e2b5136c8d9c">The fraught market for Ozempic</h2>While dozens of healthtech companies, from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weightwatchers-ceo-out-ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-2024-9">WeightWatchers</a> to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ro-weight-loss-program-insurance-delays-wegovy-shortage-2023-6">Ro,</a> have rushed to build online programs to prescribe Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hims-and-hers-cheap-weight-loss-drugs-stock-soaring-2024-5">compounded versions of the weight-loss drugs</a>, Omada doesn't prescribe GLP-1s itself. Instead, the startup set out to help patients taking GLP-1s — which began as a class of diabetes drugs — make changes to their diet and exercise.When Duffy <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/omada-strategy-weight-loss-drugs-semaglutide-ozempic-2023-5">told Business Insider about these plans in May 2023</a>, the startup was confronting a rising tide of employers panicking about the costs of the expensive drugs. The prescriptions typically cost between $8,000 and $10,000 per patient per year, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wtwco.com/en-us/insights/2024/07/8-employer-considerations-about-glp-1-drugs">according to WTW</a>, formerly Willis Towers Watson. The firm said GLP-1 drugs for obesity account for about 10% of all pharmacy spending.Those cost concerns haven't abated. Most companies still don't cover GLP-1 prescriptions for weight loss, though <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/09/business/weight-loss-drugs-glp-1-wegovy-employer/index.html#:~:text=More%20employers%20may%20start%20covering,obesity%20drugs%2C%20such%20as%20Wegovy.&amp;text=Still%2C%20more%20than%20a%20quarter,a%20human%20resources%20consulting%20firm.">more pay for the drugs now</a> than in previous years. Employers expect their healthcare costs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hrdive.com/news/weight-loss-drugs-fuel-large-employer-healthcare-cost-concerns-2025/724977/">to increase by about 8%</a> in 2025, largely due to the explosion of GLP-1s.But Duffy said only a small fraction of Omada's total contracts have imposed strict limits on GLP-1 coverage with Omada as a gatekeeper."In the narrow network world, there's a subcategory of enterprise GLP companies who just make it so that their employees can only get GLP with our conditions. You typically get less GLP usage there because you're introducing a friction point," he said.<div type="image" title="Two boxes of semaglutide under the trade names of Ozempic and Wegovy." height="3533" width="5300" msid="114728141" hostid="261" sizebytes="423802"></div>GLP-1s already come with plenty of friction points for patients. For the past two years, the drugs were in short supply, making it difficult for any patients to get their hands on the drugs, especially without a diabetes diagnosis. Those shortages are reportedly easing, with the FDA removing GLP-1 ingredient tirzepatide from <a target="_blank" href="https://dps.fda.gov/drugshortages/resolved/tirzepatide-injection">its shortage list</a> earlier this month, but many pharmacies are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/09/06/g-s1-21139/ozempic-wegovy-shortages">still dealing with empty shelves</a>.And GLP-1s can also produce plenty of side effects, which, in combination with their high costs and shortages, prompts most patients to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/long-people-stay-ozempic-stop-2-years-analysis-shows-rcna161216">stop taking the drugs</a> within the same year. That's a problem, since clinical data has shown that the majority of patients <a target="_blank" href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/112138">regain most of the weight</a> they lost on a GLP-1 after they stop taking it.Omada previously said it wanted to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/omada-strategy-weight-loss-drugs-semaglutide-ozempic-2023-5">help patients keep the weight off after stopping their GLP-1 usage</a>. The company said it isn't yet ready to share any findings on how effective those efforts have been.Going forward, Duffy said Omada is continuing to refine its metabolic health strategy as the business grows. He said the startup is also looking to partner with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://resourcecenter.omadahealth.com/omada-resources/omada-health-partners-with-intermountain-healthcare-and-castell-to-establish-integrated-virtual-care-option-for-diabetes-management-and-prevention">more health systems</a> to provide Omada's virtual solutions for conditions like diabetes and obesity to health systems' patients.

Weight loss care is leading IPO-hopeful Omada Health's latest growth surge as Ozempic boom continues

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Kayla Barnes-Lentz, a self-described biohacker, wants to live to 150.</li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-rapamycin-and-how-does-it-help-prevent-aging-2023-3">Biohackers</a> can use experimental methods to try to extend their lives, taking the longevity trend to extremes.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kayla Barnes-Lentz, a 33-year-old longevity clinic owner and podcaster living in LA. It has been edited for length and clarity.From the second I wake up, my day is built around optimizing my health, and I feel better now at 33 than I did at 18. I own a longevity and precision medicine clinic in Cleveland, where we identify the root cause of chronic disease in clients, and help high performers who want to extend their healthspans. I build my biohacking protocols into my workday, such as by having <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-tried-being-more-active-at-work-was-less-productive-2024-8">walking meetings</a>, using a whole-body vibration plate for lymphatic drainage, or combining a sauna with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/longevity-investments-ultra-rich-are-making-supplements-devices-2024-10">red light therapy</a> at midday.I was initially interested in biohacking because I wanted to perform better and work long hours to move my business forward. Once I started to see the changes in how I was feeling by just eating more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/is-organic-food-better-for-you">organic foods</a>, I really went all in. I have a very Type A personality and I just got obsessed with human optimization.So, I knew it would take someone special to be my partner because not everyone is interested in living like I do.<div type="image" title="Kayla Barnes-Lentz and Warren Lentz standing in front of a red light." height="1240" width="1164" msid="114429012" hostid="261" sizebytes="48100"></div><h2 id="08c5a859-8cc7-4566-81de-1071bab33329">I wanted to find a partner who prioritized their health</h2>Just before my husband and I met on an app called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-raya-elite-celebrity-dating-app-rich-famous-2019-12">Raya</a>, I had finally reached a place where I felt like I could date. I was so <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/passion-work-job-identity-dangers-2018-11">in love with my work</a> that love just wasn't really a priority. I had spent most of my life focused on building a business, my health, and optimizing my routines.But when I met Warren, it was very clear that he was the one. We matched on Raya in May last year, he proposed in August, and we got married in the September.I took our first video call in my clinic, so it felt natural to bring up health as I showed him our IV lounge, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-what-it-feels-like-body-lab-london-2022-2">hyperbaric oxygen chamber</a>, and where we do cryotherapy.I knew he was very into health, too. He was already posting about it on Instagram and our first in-person date was at a really healthy grocery store called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-high-end-grocery-store-employee-wishes-people-knew-erewhon">Erewhon</a>.I asked him for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biological-age-test-calculation-interpret-results-2024-2">health test results</a> really early on because we were excited to be able to optimize our health together. He initially sent me his full annual physical results, which showed hormone levels and all of the basic stuff. Then I sent him a bunch of additional tests to do, including for gut health, genetics, biomarkers, and a total toxic burden test, which looks at levels of heavy metals, molds, and environmental toxins in the body.Everything came back really good. There wouldn't have been a hard cut-off if his blood pressure had been a certain level or anything like that, because he had so many of the things that I was looking for. He was ambitious, we shared faith, he had an interest in health, and we wanted the same things for our futures. He felt so perfect for me, and I would have been able to help him fix whatever issues we did find in testing.He was definitely mastering the basics before, like diet and nutrition, but I've helped him make changes to significantly improve his labs since he sent me those first results, such as going to bed much earlier, doing <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/home/best-cold-plunge-tubs">cold plunges</a> every morning, eating 100% organic, spending time in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, and sleeping in a Faraday cage. He calls me the "Chief Health Officer" of our relationship.Some people think that is very unromantic, but anyone who knows us knows that we are so in love. We just happened to connect over our passion for health.<div type="image" title="Kayla Barnes-Lentz and Warren Lentz in a sauna, holding hands." height="1182" width="1164" msid="114429021" hostid="261" sizebytes="73554"></div><h2 id="94a0f241-6611-48dc-9956-37b27764295d">I want to have as much time with my husband as possible </h2>We got married at 33 and 36, which is a little later in life, so I want to have as much time with him as humanly possible. I just want to live as long as my husband does. My goal is that both of us make it to 150.A lot of people in the biohacking industry are kind of siloed on their own, so it's nice to show that you can have a beautiful marriage and do this together.Warren has also shown me how to relax a little bit more. I always prioritized very systematic de-stressing, like breathwork and being in nature. Now we're doing something that I've never done before: sometimes we'll turn on something relaxing on the TV and cuddle a bit before bed.We also have biweekly marriage optimization meetings. We take notes on what we want to talk about, and Warren makes an agenda. We start with compliments, then there's "the optimization section," which covers what we can each do more or less of to improve the relationship, and then we close with compliments again to make it a positive meeting. We discuss anything that's on our minds, from nutrition and trying a new therapy to emotions, which has been very beneficial.Getting married is one of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/good-relationships-help-you-live-longer-reduce-physical-pain-2023-1">best biohacks</a> I've done because it has given me a really incredible sense of security and peace.

I'm a biohacker who wants to live to 150. I asked my husband to do health tests before we started dating and I'm now the 'Chief Health Officer' of our relationship.

When Josef Woodman's shoulder gave out in 2012 — strained from chopping firewood on his farm outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina — he said he was quoted between $2,400 and $3,200 for an MRI at Duke University Hospital.He didn't want to shell out the cost of a nice vacation just to find out he didn't need surgery, so he decided to wait, even as his mobility decreased to the point where he had to severely limit his farm work and could hold only one-third of the weight he normally could. Two years later, his patience was rewarded: While on a work trip to Bangkok, he got an MRI for just $460, landing an appointment two days after his consultation at a hospital."The results came back and they said, 'You don't need surgery. You've got a separated rotator cuff,'" Woodman said. The surgeon prescribed physical therapy, which he completed in the US. "The shoulder got way better," he told me. He was glad he waited.Like Woodman, millions of Americans travel abroad for medical procedures each year, saving anywhere from 40% to 90% on the services they receive. Many <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(18)30620-X/fulltext">don't have health insurance</a> or don't get coverage for the procedures they seek out — dental work and cosmetic procedures like breast implants and liposuction are by far the most popular. There's also a small but growing market for people seeking thorough checkups and testing abroad. An ascendant medical-tourism industry is offering these types of screenings, including MRIs and electrocardiograms, in beautiful locations around the world and packaging them with transportation, accommodations, food, shopping, and sightseeing. And with an increasing obsession with "wellness" and celebrities like Kim Kardashian promoting full-body imaging, it's easy to see why more and more Americans are looking to pair cabanas with CAT scans."If you've got some kind of joint pain, or if you have some kind of condition that isn't progressing, incorporate that into your normal travel plans," Woodman, now 72, said. In 2007, he founded Patients Beyond Borders, a healthcare-consulting company that helps Americans plan medical vacations, after growing up taking trips to Mexico for dental work with his dad. "In any kind of industrialized nation, you'd be able to get access to good-quality screening and people who can interpret the results," he said.Medical tourism comes with risks; the American Medical Association recommends going only to medical facilities recognized by international accrediting bodies and following up testing with care at home. But a growing number of Americans are willing to take those risks, as suites of tests abroad are often cheaper and faster than just a single test in the US."We just don't have a preventative-oriented society here in the United States," Woodman said. "Our approach is reactive."In a July <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@bryn.elise/video/7386406512593325355?lang=en">TikTok</a> that's amassed over 17 million views, Bryn Elise documented her experience at a Turkish hospital where she received over 30 scans and tests, including an EKG, chest X-ray, and abdominal and thyroid ultrasounds, in a single day. The bill? $830. Without insurance, the cost of an EKG alone in the US <a target="_blank" href="https://enhancehealth.com/blog/how-much-does-an-ekg-cost-at-urgent-care-without-insurance/#:~:text=The%20total%20cost%20of%20an,where%20you%20get%20the%20service.">can vary from $100 to $5,000</a>."Personally, I'd rather spend $700 on a flight to Turkey, get dozens of tests there, and take a whole vacation than spend the thousands that this would have cost in the United States," Elise said in the video, which also featured clips of her on a beach, poolside, and eating a spread of delicious-looking Turkish veggie bowls. The 29-year-old health- and beauty-tourism influencer said she booked the trip because she wanted to investigate some "mysterious ailments," including brain fog, vision problems, and heart palpitations, without paying America's sky-high healthcare costs. She told her followers she had struggled with an eating disorder for 10 years and that "since our US checkups are only a tap on the knee and a blood-pressure check, I've been low-key terrified that I've caused permanent damage to my body but would never find out until it's too late."Her tests unearthed an astigmatism, early signs of osteoporosis, and "critically low" levels of vitamin B12. "The feeling of impending doom I've had due to health concerns is gone," Elise said.She chose a hospital that had been accredited by the Joint Commission International, an Illinois-based organization that has accredited over 1,000 health facilities in more than 70 countries. Dr. Paulo Neno, an international-accreditation surveyor at the commission, told Business Insider the accreditation process takes up to two years to complete and is renewed every three years. It includes a 12-part evaluation, during which a team of doctors and nurses visit the medical facility and assess everything from its operating theaters and intensive-care units to its power and water systems."We are focused on understanding how they are providing safe care for high-risk patients," Neno said.It's unclear, though, how many medical tourists visit accredited facilities, and there's still the question of whether all these tests are useful for someone who is seemingly in good health. Woodman knew he had an issue that needed to be examined, but Elise was more interested in a holistic screening regimen. One person commented on Elise's TikTok, "The hypochondriac in me thinks this is the perfect vacation. I'd go every year."Since COVID-19 came into the picture, health screenings and extensive physicals have received some buzz. Last year, Kardashian got a full-body MRI done by Prenuvo, a US chain of diagnostic clinics that offers the service for $2,500. In an Instagram post promoting it, Kardashian described it as a "life saving machine" that could detect cancer or conditions like aneurysms in their earliest stages. Especially given the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colon-cancer-cases-doubled-young-people-2024-5">rise in colon cancer</a> among young people — a disease that can spread with no or minimal symptoms — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/get-colonoscopy-colon-cancer-symptoms-colorectal-oncologist-2024-4">early screenings</a> are on more people's minds.But Arturo Vargas Bustamante, an associate professor of health policy and management at the University of California, Los Angeles, said these kinds of rigorous tests can often do more harm than good."You may get a lot of things that you may not need based on your age profile, or you may get screenings that ultimately would find something that could lead to treatment that may harm you," he said. US guidelines on which demographics should get tested are based on scientific evidence, he added, while clinics abroad may be more motivated by profit.If a test finds cancer at a very early stage when it's very slow-moving, Vargas Bustamante said, the patient may feel compelled to treat it immediately, subjecting themself to chemotherapy and radiation. But in reality, it's possible they could have gone years without needing to start treatment. "Sometimes knowing too much may not be that good for you," he said.Others, however, think that America's lack of access to robust preventive screening is a critical failure.Dr. Misael Uribe Ramos is the director of international medicine at Médica Sur in Mexico City, a Joint Commission International-accredited hospital that offers checkups with eight different specialists for $1,600. Uribe Ramos has seen interest in rigorous physicals boom since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic — and he thinks it's a good thing.Often when you go to the doctor, it's to treat a specific issue or disease, he said. "But why is that? Because you don't have prevention," he said. "Prevention is the best way to be healthy."In America, chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are leading causes of death and disability, driving the majority of the US's $4.5 trillion in yearly healthcare expenses, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/about/index.html">according to</a> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These illnesses are largely preventable. The CDC also says that between 30% and 50% of cancers diagnosed today could be prevented by reducing risk factors (like not smoking and maintaining a healthy body weight) and getting recommended screenings and vaccinations. However, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://health.gov/news/202401/prevention-still-best-medicine">US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion</a>, only 5.3% of Americans 35 and older received all recommended clinical prevention services in 2020 — a number that dropped from 8.5% in 2015. Why? Simply put, many Americans aren't regular healthcare users. They often don't have a family doctor, they live too far from one, they don't have a way to get there, or they simply can't afford it, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion says. Meanwhile, preventive-care services aren't prioritized because healthcare providers are paid to treat diseases — not to prevent them by keeping people healthy. A 2020 study said the National Academy of Medicine <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7309216/">estimated</a> that missed prevention opportunities cost the US $55 billion annually.Other countries take a different approach. In Japan, for instance, the most basic annual checkups include EKGs, chest X-rays, blood tests, eye and hearing tests, and stool and urine tests. And some residents require a more comprehensive version that includes cancer screening. Japanese employers are required to provide them for all of their employees. In 2019, about 74% of men and 66% of women in Japan completed some type of medical checkup, according to the country's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.South Korea's regimen is similar to Japan's. On a work trip there in 2010, Woodman had extensive testing done, including an MRI and CT scan, as part of a "wellness preventative program" he tried out for work, he said. He was offered an endoscopy and colonoscopy as part of the package but declined."Testing in the United States is really kind of pathetic," Woodman said. "They weigh you. They take your blood test. 'How tall are you?' And that's pretty much it."Americans seeking better preventive screening tend to visit South Korea, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, while Mexico, Barbados, and Thailand are popular for genetic and fertility testing, as well as testing related to gender-affirming care, medical-tourism advocates told BI.Many of these countries have hospitals that cater to foreigners. In Mexico, Médica Sur's checkups take about five hours, with screenings across disciplines such as internal medicine, cardiology, gynecology, and ophthalmology. (In the US, a typical physical takes less than an hour.) Packages include breakfast, transportation, accommodation, menus catering to dietary restrictions, discounted sightseeing for an extra cost, and concierge staff who help patients coordinate their stay and remain by their side for the duration. The hospital is also connected to a Holiday Inn if visitors want to stay on-site.Results are available within two weeks, at which point the patient can discuss the findings with a doctor in person or remotely; a checkup three months later is also included in the price. If, for example, the screenings indicate a malignant tumor, Uribe Ramos said, doctors will explain to a patient which follow-up tests they need, either in their home country or at Médica Sur. He recommends getting a thorough exam once a year.Since opening its international-medicine wing in 2019, the hospital has seen 5,000 foreign patients, most of them American and Canadian, Uribe Ramos said.Imani Bashir was living in Cancún three years ago when she felt what she thought was a lump in her breast. At the time she was 34 — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/screening/screening-recommendations-by-age.html#:~:text=Women%20ages%2040%20to%2044,should%20get%20mammograms%20every%20year.">young</a> to be receiving a mammogram — but her family had a history of the disease, so she booked an appointment anyway. In the US, the median <a target="_blank" href="https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.e18917">cost</a> of a mammogram ranges from $140 to $360 for women who aren't insured. In Mexico, it was under $50. As a Black woman who grew up in the US without health insurance, the 37-year-old communications director found the experience especially validating."When we go to the doctor and say that we're in pain, it's kind of just shooed away, like it's not a big deal," Bashir said. In Mexico, the medical center didn't question her. Now that she's living in Washington, DC, she continues to travel to Mexico for both her and her son's dental appointments and other medical issues because it's cheaper and easier to get appointments. "It always feels good when you feel like you can take care of yourself, and financially, it's not going to be a detriment to your life and your health," she says.Given how many people experience difficulty navigating the American healthcare system, it's no surprise that the medical-tourism market is growing rapidly. Patients Beyond Borders estimates the industry is growing between 15% and 25% each year. And 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9104082/#:~:text=The%20increase%20in%20medical%20tourism,other%20time%20in%20the%20past.">research</a> found that the increase in international tourism had helped fuel the trend. As <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travel-agents-back-gen-z-millennials-vacation-planning-overseas-resorts-2024-6">more people spend time abroad</a>, it becomes easier to tack a few small medical tests onto your trip.Vargas Bustamante thinks traveling internationally for rigorous testing probably most benefits healthy people who just want "peace of mind." Despite the risk factors, the industry's growing appeal illustrates the limitations of American healthcare."Why would someone have to buy a plane ticket to go all the way on the other side of the world just for an adequate amount of healthcare? It's nuts," Bashir said. "But if people have the privilege, if people have the money to be able to do so, then I say, yeah."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/manisha-krishnan">Manisha Krishnan</a> is an Emmy award-winning journalist who covers healthcare. She is based in Brooklyn.

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