Obesity And Ethical Issues

There are many people who believe that obesity is a matter of personal responsibility. Many people think it is Americans are the ones who to blame and not the fast food industry. Many people may say that it is easy to blame obesity on what Americans eat. However, these people do not realize that many Americans cannot afford healthy foods. So, since fast foods are cheap and affordable, it may be why many people choose them. In the article “Physical activity and childhood obesity” Green, Riley, and Hargrove explain “a greater percentage of adolescents from families living in poverty are obese (23%), compared with those from families of a higher socioeconomic status (14%)” (915). Additionally, this statement demonstrates that although obesity may be caused by genes or psychological influences, the environment is the most important factor. When families are in poverty, they are not looking for what is healthy and what is unhealthy. They are looking for food to survive, and so many times fast food is the only option. Following this future, there is indication that obesity, extremely affects certain minority youth populations. The National Health and Nutrition Examination survey found that African American and Hispanic adolescents ages 12-19 were more likely to be overweight at 21 and 23 percent, respectively, as compared to non-Hispanic White adolescents (14%) (915). Furthermore, these statistics show that there is a strong relationship among race or ethnicity, poverty, and

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention claims that “obesity related medical care cost in the United States are at an all time high, and in 2008 dollars, these cost were estimated to be 147 billion. The annual nationwide productive costs of obesity-related absenteeism range between $3.38 billion ($79 per obese individual) and $6.38 billion ($132 per obese individual),” according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. An analysis conducted by Emory University own healthcare economist Ken Thorpe, Ph.D. C, titled “The Future Cost of Obesity” estimates that the annual of cost of health care will sky rock by an estimated 344 billion dollars by 2018 or about $20.00 per every healthcare dollar spent in the U.S, providing a financial imperative for obesity prevention initiatives.

individual and collective responsibility, or if we lose sight of the fact that the responsibility for

According to Fred Kuchler and Nicole Ballenger (2002) being overweight or obese are major public health problems costing society over a billion dollars annually and posing as large a threat of death as poverty, smoking, or problem drinking. Obesity is associated with a number of conditions, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, certain cancers, and with increased risk of disability and a modestly elevated risk of all-cause mortality.

Eight obesity-related diseases account for seventy-five percent of all health care costs in the U.S. These problems, which are directly tied to obesity, range from diabetes, stroke, and the leading cause of death in the United States, heart disease. One in every five American deaths are related to obesity. It is the second leading cause of preventable death, with nearly three hundred thousand people perishing every year to obesity-related diseases. Obese individuals not only feel the effects of their addiction physically, but financially as well. Adults who are considered obese spend forty-two percent more on healthcare costs than those who are deemed healthy. As U.S. citizens’ waistlines have expanded over the years, so have their portion sizes. Today, the average restaurant meal size is four times larger than it was in 1955. Hamburgers have expanded by twenty-three percent, while soft drinks have increased in size by fifty-one percent. As a result, the percentage of obese adults has more than doubled from 13.4 percent in 1962 to 35.1 percent today. The correlation between the disease epidemic and health care spending is connected by the United States’ lack of diet

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of American adults are obese and adolescent obesity has more than doubled. It’s projected that in the year 2030 if obesity trends continue, that 42% of Americans will be obese. How does this affect those of us who are not obese? According to American Diabetes Association, 62.4% of diabetes care is provided by Government insurance (Medicare, Medicaid and Military), 34.4% is provided by private insurance and 3.2% diabetes care is given to the uninsured. According to American Journal of Preventive medicine, an individual with Type II Diabetes may spend an average of nearly $85,000 to treat the disease and it’s complication over his or her lifetime. Type II Diabetes has tripled since 1980 and statistics show no signs of it slowing down. If left unabated, these numbers will drastically increase and it’s the American people that will be left picking up the tab. A research that was funded, in part, by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease recently released a definitive relation between obesity and Type II Diabetes. Statistics show that almost 80% of Type II Diabetics are

What we eat and drink can cause obesity, which contributes to many other increased risk conditions, such as increased mortality, increased rates of chronic diseases and lower quality of life. About 300,000 of deaths in the U.S. are attributable to obesity related factors. Therefore, besides its social and physical costs on the individuals, there are monetary costs. United States spends about $190.2 Billion annually on obesity related illnesses and this makes up more than 20% of all healthcare costs.

struggling to cope with rising health care costs. The cost of treating obesity currently totals $117 billion per year—a price, according to the surgeon general, “second only to the cost of

For quite some time now, many researchers have been suggesting that the United States is facing a serious problem in regards to healthcare and the numbers of overweight and obese individuals. Our lifestyles affect our health in major ways, and with obesity becoming an epidemic, this could make a major impact on the healthcare system. In a report from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for Americas Future, its states that if obesity continues to grow, then more than half Americans will be obese by the year 2030. (journal of food distribution research vol 44 issue 1).

In 2008, the American Medical Association recognized obesity as a disease claiming that “Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately one in three Americans,” said AMA board member Patrice Harris, M.D. While this may be true, is that a justifiable reason to classify obesity, a result of unhealthy decisions, as a disease? The fact is obesity is the consequence of choosing an unhealthy lifestyle. True the unhealthy lifestyle may not be chosen on purpose but “The choices we make by accident are just as important as the choices we make by design” – Anonymous. Therefore if obesity is a consequence of choices then I feel obesity itself has to be a choice,

By this I’m trying to say, people have to pay for health care as a result of being unhealthily obese. Obesity remains one of the biggest threats to the health of our children and our country, contributing to more than one hundred forty seven billion dollars to two hundred ten billion dollars in preventable health care spending (obesity np). Being overweight costs so much money per individual per year. An obese individual in the U.S. costs four thousand eight hundred seventy nine dollars for women and two thousand six hundred forty six dollars for men each year. As body mass index (BMI) increases, so does spending on doctor visits, procedures, and medications (Dykman np). The bigger the number on the scale, the greater your health-care costs, according to a new Duke University study. According to the study of Drake students: A person has to pay for heart disease problems (six hundred forty dollars) and buying cardiovascular drugs cost two hundred twenty five dollars per year. Musculoskeletal conditions (seven hundred fifteen dollars) and diabetes (one hundred sixty seven dollars) and insulin (three hundred sixty four dollars). As a person’s BMI increases to a point of being overweight or obese, all of these problems can add up and cause a person an extreme amount of money (Kuzma np). In closing, why would you be obese? You’re going to do nothing but lose money and become broke. I know I wouldn’t like to be obese and broke. Being obese costs so

Obesity is defined by the Encyclopedia of Nursing “Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease and is characterized by an accumulation of excess body fat caused by increased caloric intake and decreased energy expenditure” (1). Obesity can cause several health conditions and even death. In America to be considered obese is when a person’s Body Mass Index also known as BMI is over 30. Obesity divided into three categories. Here is the breakdown of the categories per the Center for Disease and Control Prevention “Class 1: BMI of 30 to < 35 Class 2: BMI of 35 to < 40 Class 3: BMI of 40 or higher. Class 3 obesity is sometimes categorized as “extreme” or “severe” obesity” (1). An obese adult can have many health diseases such as heart disease, instance of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and sleep apnea. With these health problems adults, will also have increased health care cost. According to the article The Economics’ of Obesity: Cost, Causes and Controls” by Clare Ulrich “Total health-care costs for obesity-related problems were tabulated at $75 billion in 2003” (1). This is an estimated cost of what the nation spends on healthcare for the Obesity related health cost. J.G. Trogdon’s article Indirect Costs of Obesity: A Review of the Current Literature he talks about the obesity in six categories. One of the categories in these categories he discusses what the government pays in income due to obese related

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene currently reports more than half of adults which is 34 percent are overweight or 22 percent of them are obese. As we know obesity increases the risk of many chronic conditions such as cardiac diseases, stroke and high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Which ultimately increase the health care cost paid by Medicare. Root cause of the obesity epidemic is intake of all the unhealthy sugary sweet beverages, high sodium content processed food and lack of knowledge of nutrition values and diet (nyc.gov). New York State spends about $6.1 billion annually to fight diet related diseases (New

Obesity is increasing throughout the world and is a combination of poor food choices and physical inactivity. It is the second leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States and is responsible for nearly 300,000 deaths per year. An obese human body consists of it carrying an excess amount of adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that secretes many products such as metabolites, cytokines, lipids, and coagulation factors. The human body needs some body fat for insulation, storing energy, and shock absorption, however obesity causes increased levels of circulating fatty acids and inflammation. Being obese can cause numerous problematic disease such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. According to a research article by Eric Ravussin, PhD., “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 has steadily increased since 1960, a trend that has slowed in recent years but shows no sign of reversing. Today, 69 percent of U.S. adults are categorized as being affected by obesity or having excess weight.” (Obesity Society) Obesity continues to significantly impact our health-care costs in the United States. The cost of health-care for obese adults is close to two-hundred billion dollars a year.

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.