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On Consumerism: Beware the ‘pre’ factor

By Arthur Vidro
By Arthur Vidro

When I was growing up, plenty of folks had diabetes or hypertension. But nobody was diagnosed with prediabetes or prehypertension.

Nowadays those terms are common. Probably some medical facility or drug manufacturer figured they could draw in more customers by expanding the definitions to encompass more people.

So folks who, in my day, would have graded out as having normal health, are nowadays told they suffer from prehypertension or prediabetes. It doesn’t mean they’re going to develop hypertension or diabetes; it just means they’re somewhat closer to the unhealthy range.

But even with a “pre” diagnosis, you get offered immediate treatment.

Some “prescreenings” for medical conditions are free. But folks who go often find themselves receiving potentially alarming results, with the suggestion to get full testing, which of course costs plenty of money.

When I was 12 everyone in school was “prescreened” for scoliosis, which means we removed our shirts and bent over. A gym teacher looked for a few seconds for possible spine curvature. Some of us, including me, were told we had potential trouble and should go see a doctor.

Mom took me to a doctor. He studied my bare spine for less than 30 seconds, said I didn’t have scoliosis, and we could leave. Hooray!

Then came the bill in the mail for $120 (around $350 in today’s money). For a 30-second look-see.

We couldn’t afford to pay. So we didn’t. The doctor’s office sent statements for five years, then stopped. The bill and statements were addressed to me, not my parents. Perhaps because I was a minor, they let me off the hook.

But I learned my lesson. No more prescreenings for me. I’ll wait until symptoms develop before seeking care.

An adult prescreening often involves a test that gets sent to a lab. If your result lands on the wrong side of the ever-shifting parameters, then you’re told to go for more extensive, more invasive, more expensive testing.

Who sponsors free prescreenings? Often it’s parties that benefit from having more medical treatments occurring.

Over in the world of sports, they used to have exhibition games – meaningless games where neither team cared about winning, but whose purpose was to gauge the talent of those trying out for the team. Those who were exhibiting their skills.

Anyone was allowed into the stadium to watch. The teams were happy to have some fans in the stands, and if they bought food and drink, so much the better.

Over the years, exhibition games morphed into “preseason” games, which means you have to pay to get in.

Yet the games are still meaningless.

I can’t speak for the entire National Football League, but the Jets and Giants (the local markets where I grew up) charge the same money for admission to a preseason game as for a regular game.

Not only that, season ticket holders are required to buy tickets for the preseason too. If they don’t buy preseason tickets, then they’re not allowed to buy regular-season tickets; they get knocked off the ticket holder list, and folks on the waiting list eagerly move up.

It’s even hit education. Somewhere along the way somebody coined the term “preschool.”

I have never understood the purpose of preschool. It’s not really school, since the tots aren’t being instructed in anything.

Especially in the COVID-19 age, I don’t see the need for classes of preschool children. Heck, I don’t even see the need for kindergarten.

Until kindergarten, I stayed home. I learned more at home, especially by watching “Jeopardy!” (a daytime show then, with Art Fleming hosting, before Alex Trebek hit the scene) and by reading.

Kindergarten taught me nothing. I was already reading and learning numbers at home. Perhaps some kids got their start on the alphabet in kindergarten. But mostly it was a huge room filled with blocks, paints, and other toys for occupying toddlers’ time.

Kindergarten was a nightmare. The toys held no appeal to me. I struggled greatly with milk-and-cookie (fussy eater), didn’t attempt to nap (though I sat silently, I kept my suspicious eyes open), and refused to finger-paint (wanting my hands to remain clean).

Come first grade, the toys were set aside and real school began. Then I thrived.

If preschool is just a glorified version of daycare, then it should call itself a publicly funded daycare center, not a school.

One can make a good case that this nation needs publicly funded daycare. But let’s not deceive ourselves by calling it school.

With COVID-19, perhaps we should think twice about all school levels below the first grade.

Whether it’s in medicine, education, or sports, beware the “pre” factor.

Adding a “pre” to a condition or activity is sometimes an attempt to exploit a situation for more money.

If you have consumerism questions, send them to Arthur Vidro in the care of this newspaper, which publishes his column every weekend.

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