Direct Medical Costs

Obesity has both direct and indirect effects. Direct effects we will explore are lost time due to increased use of sick days and restrictive work duties. A few of the indirect costs are the cost of medication for diseases directly related to obesity, such as but not limited to, Diabetes, High

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

“Obesity is a disease that affects more than one-third of the U.S adult population (approximately 78.6 million Americans). The number of Americans with obesity had steadily increase since 1960, a trend that has slowed down in recent years but show no sign of reversing”.

According to TMA (2016), obesity is also responsible for 27 percent of the health care spending growth because it costs 37 percent more funding to treat obese patients. “This serious risk factor is found in Texas, where more than 30 percent of children in grades 4 through 11 are overweight or obese. A child who is overweight at age 12 has a 75-percent chance of being overweight as an adult,” (Texas Medical Association,

About 40 to 50% of adults in America are at risk for diseases such as stroke, kidney failure, heart attack, heart failure and obesity. Most of these diseases are brought on by hypertension which is brought on by unhealthy eating choices, poor diet and little to no exercise which has devastating effects on the body. Approximately 7 out of 10 Americans is prescribed or takes a prescription pill daily, half of those are diet related illnesses such a diabetes and one third of those individuals is obese. Two trillion medical-care costs are because of chronic diseases most of which are lifestyle habits/choices. Obesity in America costs about taxpayers about $123 billion via Medicare and Medicaid. Now that obesity has risen at an alarming rate, in some cases obesity is considered a disability for those that are physically or mentally impaired by it. Debatably a preventable disease with proper education on food, diet and exercise

Obese- is becoming an “epidemic!” We have 44.3 million people that are either obese or over weight. In 1986, the numbers were at 1 in 2000, and they became 1 in 400 by the year 2000. Even our high school age students are at an all time high of 16% overweight and 10% obese. As that number keeps increasing, future projections for covering healthcare expenditures must figure in the obese-related

Obesity presents numerous health risks, both physical and mental. Obesity has been linked to or is a risk factor for many non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease (including stroke and heart) type two diabetes, many cancers (including breast, colorectal….), musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, depression and mental health disorders. Obesity along with all of the alarming health implications have the ability to

one’s body, there are also condition the affect one’s mental health as well; such as depression,

Obesity is associated with a number of long term conditions which place significant burden on individuals. The growing issue of obesity can be slowed down, if society focuses on the effects of obesity. Concentrating on psychological problems, health problems and social care, overtime, obesity can be decreased and lead to a healthier

In a way, this book highlights the various consequences of obesity in significant detail. In the author's opinion, obesity does impact on an individual's health negatively from both a surgical and mental

Obesity in the United States has really become an economic problem as well. People are spending the little money that they have and spending it on food that they shouldn’t be eating in the first place, which they should be spending their money on healthier and nutritious food, for themselves and their family. New England Medical Center, Michael Dansinger of the Tufts says:

In 1999, the cost of child and adolescent hospital admissions and visits due to obesity and overweight was estimated to be $127 million (CDC). According to the Center of Disease Control, the total cost of obesity in the U.S. in 2000 was $117 billion, with one third of these costs attributed to cardiovascular complications (CDC).

The trend of health care costs is still primarily based on treatment and less on prevention. Adult obesity is a significant cause of preventable chronic diseases and one cause of increased health care costs in the United States. The cost of obesity impacts each state and community. Adult obesity can be associated with chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, and some cancers, just to name a few, and account for more than 75 percent of U.S. health care cost. Currently, costs range from $147 billion to nearly $210 billion per year. If this trend continues, obesity-related medical costs alone could reach 66 billion a year by 2030.

Mancini et al postulates that in 1980 obesity was only 1 in every 10 and in today’s adults 1.5 billion man and women are considered obese (418+). The World Health Organization stresses that in 2010 nearly 43 million children under the age of 5 were overweight (qtd in Mancini et al 418+). Rising level of obesity has a direct link to the major health problems worldwide, and the impact on the cost of treating this epidemic has significantly affected the economics of the medical field (Mancini et al 418+). Mancini et al computed the relationship of rising body mass index and healthcare cost as being equivalent to one another (418+). “Education is another important determination of overweight and obesity: as expected having a high level of education

Linked with health problems is a poor diet. Variations in our food environment have made it challenging to maintain a healthy weight. Society tends to want to eat more fast-food rather than cooking at home because it is cheaper and less time-consuming. We have become lazy when it comes to our diets. We don’t take into consideration the Food Guide and basically eat what we want, when we want. Obesity is also a major drain on the economy. The amount of money being spent on health care because of obesity-related diseases is astronomical. The Globe and Mail had an article headlined, “Obesity costs economy up to $7-billion a year” (Picard). By eating right and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, our society can cut down economic costs drastically. All we need to have is some discipline, the proper diet, and exercise.