Even though most American adults may not be obviously ill, a vast majority of them still lack full health and vitality.

This state of "incomplete" health has resulted in a loss of productivity in the workforce, and potentially increases health care costs in the long term, according to an Emory University study published in the May, 2005 issue of the Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health.

According to the research, almost 38% of completely unhealthy adults reported that they missed an entire day of work in the past 30 days, compared with 14% of those categorized as incompletely healthy, and just 8% of adults with complete mental and physical health.

Also, completely unhealthy adults averaged 11 outpatient medical visits a year, compared with 4 visits among incompletely healthy adults and only 2 outpatient medical visits a year for completely healthy adults.

The results of the study demonstrate that health care providers and public health officials need to focus on the promotion of wellness to improve quality of life and increase productivity, and not just on the prevention and treatment of illness and injury.

Emory sociologist Corey Keyes said, "We need to look at health as more than just the absence of illness and recognize that there are varying levels of health. Ultimately, we have it backwards -- we focus first on disease and illness instead of good health." He added, "Rather than providing treatment only when the patient is broken, we need to promote physical and mental health at the same time we prevent the onset and course of disease." Who would you want working for you?