I am on vacation.

As this paper is printing, a red-eye is whisking me to the Mainland, where I'll be reconnecting with family, old college buddies and my BFF from Ka'elepulu Elementary days.

It's a break long overdue, and it's good for me. More Americans should be vacationing.

Last week, the Los Angeles Times published a couple of articles tracking Americans' vacationing habits and how that affects their health.

No surprise — the studies found that not taking vacations is bad for you.

One study that tracked women over 20 years found they were at a 50 percent higher risk of suffering a heart attack if they were infrequent vacationers (defined as taking no more than one every six years — ick!) than those who hele on at least twice a year.

Another that followed men over a nine-year period found that infrequent vacationers were 20 percent more likely to die of any cause, and at a 50 percent higher risk of dying from a heart attack than frequent vacationers (defined as taking at least four vacations over five years).

I was mulling this having just seen "Sicko," Michael Moore's documentary about Americans victimized by the healthcare industry.

There's a crucial flaw in having the choice of giving medical treatment in the power of those who care only about the bottom line. The point Moore makes is that caring for people isn't a growth industry, it's a responsibility of an enlightened society — and he's right.

But to what extent are we victimizing ourselves?

We're workaholics. We exercise less, so mental stress that builds has no outlet. We're getting fatter. We develop ailments stemming from our stress, lethargy and bad diet, then expect the doctor to "fix it." So he gives us a lecture about diet and exercise. When that's not followed, here come the prescriptions! — America's answer for everything.

No doubt there are victims of the healthcare industry's greed. Costs are so out of control, not only is health insurance unaffordable for 48 million Americans, it is crushing businesses' ability to pay for it, hurting their competitiveness abroad. These problems must be fixed.

But these are our bodies. Barring some calamity that only advanced medicine can solve, being healthy is our responsibility.

The comedian Bill Maher asked Moore about that on his HBO show "Real Time." Moore, an obese man, conceded the point.

"I decided that one way to beat the system was to take care of yourself," he said. "If you just moved around a little bit, turned the TV off, ate a few things differently, you could avoid the nightmare that awaits so many people when you enter the healthcare system in this country."

So take a vacation, people! And go take a hike while you're at it.

Reach Christine Strobel at cstrobel@honoluluadvertiser.com.