Potential Cost Benefits for Treating Overweight or Obese Individuals

Farburn et al (2002) suggests that “the prevalence of obesity and its physiological and psychological complications is increasing among children and adults. These findings emphasize the need for effective prevention and treatment programs. Public health policies and strategies are implemented to meet targets to tackle health issues and socioeconomic problems (Lydia Balsdon, 2009). The House of Commons Health Select Committee (HSC 2004) foreseen the rise in health-care costs related to obesityas the figures are predicted to double by 2050, the estimated cost in 2002 was around £3340-3724 million. Obesity usually relates to limitations in mobility, which results in challenges with daily activities and affecting the quality of life and preventing individuals from finding employability. Health and psychological complications from obesity and related diseases impact the health and social care cost as individuals have high sickness and absence levels from work, which results in low productivity and enforces costs on industries.(McCormick et al, 2007). The government addresses the national strategies in tackling and reducing the obesity figures in the UK. (DH, 2005b). The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2013) declared that from April 2013, the local government took on a widespread concern for public health within

A simple strategy such as losing five kilograms has the potential to result in 27% to 34% fewer cardiovascular related hospital admissions and deaths over the next twenty years. Obesity plays a major role in todays and the future societies health and health care system. Action needs to take place in order to reduce the effects of this health issue. A few examples of this are: Creating more of an awareness of the effects obesity has on individuals and the community can help reduce the growth of this health issue. Educating people and children more on how to create a healthy lifestyle including healthy eating and exercise will reduce obesity greatly and describing practical strategies that would enable Australian to loose weight and keep the weight down will also have a positive impact on society.

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

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.

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

Welcome to the United States of America; where every citizen has the right to life, liberty, and an expanding waistline. Recent studies have shown that “1 out of every 3 Americans are considered obese or overweight”(Kelley); a major contributor for 100,000 to 400,000 weight related deaths yearly. As a cost of being one of the heaviest nations in the world, the U.S. designates around $190.2 billion dollars, or 21% of all medical spending every year, for treatment, preventative, and diagnostic services, in an effort to stop what is now referred to as ”an obesity epidemic”. As for individuals living with this chronic disease on a daily basis, a recent report from George

Obesity is a public health issue that has devastatingly developed into a global epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is dramatically increasing worldwide at an appalling and intimidating rate with more than 1.9 billion adults aged18 years and older being overweight in 2014. Out of these 1.9 billion adults being overweight, 600 million were classified obese. While the issue regarding overweight and obesity are prevalent in all countries, the National Health and Medical Research Council stated that Australia’s obesity levels have been developing faster than any countries in the world over the past thirty years. Although obesity may have been primarily considered as a personal concern three decades ago; it is overwhelmingly a societal concern today in Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have measured that in 2011 and 2012, around 63% of Australian adults had the characteristics of being overweight and corpulence. That is over a quarter of the adult population in Australia being obese.

According to the Center for Disease Control Obesity affects approximately one third of the United States’ adult population. Every state has an obesity rate of at least 15% and nine states in the United Stated have rates over 30% (CDC, 2010). Obesity affects some demographics more than others with Native Americans, Hispanics and African Americans experiencing higher rates of obesity than their white counterparts. The rate of obesity in the US has been rising “from 13.4% in 1980 to 34.3% in 2008 among adults and from 5% to 17% among children during the same period.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Being obese carries severe health and financial burdens. People classified as overweight (having a BMI between 25 and 29.9) or obese (having a BMI of 30 or higher) have increased risk of developing heart disease, type 2 Diabetes, liver disease, stroke, certain types of cancers, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, hypertension, abnormal menstrual cycles, Dyslipidemia and infertility (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Medical spending for those who are obese is on average $1,429 per year higher than individuals of a healthy height. As Finkelstein explained in his 2009 study, “the connection between rising rates of obesity and rising medical spending is undeniable.” (Finkelstein, 2009, p. 831?)

Ten percent of the disease burden globally is attributed to sedentary lifestyle and poor nutritional diet. One disease associated with above stated factors is – diabetes 2 , which would become largest killer in near future. In terms of overweight and obesity Australia ranked 30th in study published in the Lancet. In contrast to trend in growth of obesity and overweight in population of other developed countries which have reached saturation level, Australia is experiencing exponential growth rate in overweight and obesity. The increase from 56 per cent in 1995, to 63 per cent in 2011-12 in overweight and obesity has been tracked by Australian Health Survey.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health’. (1) A general measure used to monitor obesity is the body mass index (BMI). A person with a BMI of 25+ is considered overweight and 30+ is obese. Between 2011 – 2012 62.8% of Australians adults, aged 18+ were overweight or obese, with 27.5% of the cases being obese. This has increased by 6.5% since 1995. (2) The obesity epidemic in Australia needs to be addressed urgently as it is a precursor to most preventable lifestyle diseases and a BMI over 25 is the second highest contributor to burden of disease in this country. (3) According to WHO, worldwide the rate of obesity has doubled from 1980-2014. (4) In 2014-2015,

The most severe stage of overweight, Obesity, is a serious medical condition that Australians cannot afford to ignore. Obesity has been linked to low self-esteem and a diminishment in the overall quality of life for the individual. (AIHW, 2010). More importantly, obesity can result in the development of musculo-skeletal problems, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. (AIHW, 2010). Of these diseases, the

The modern-day epidemic of obesity in America is destroying lives and bankrupting the government. Reuters reports, “Obesity in America is now adding an astounding $190 billion to the annual national healthcare price tag” (Ungar 2012). This number is so high due to hospital costs and prescription drugs. The number even exceeds the medical costs due to smoking. Fortunately for the government, smokers die earlier and save the government money on things such as Social Security, private pensions and Medicare. (Ungar 2012) However, obese people tend to live almost as long as those who have a healthy weight and require more medical care throughout their lives, which costs the government substantial amounts of money.

This next article goes more into depth of the higher medical costs of being obese. According to Mokdad and associates in 2003, obesity has increased nation-wide by 74% between 1991 and 2001 (p. 242). The article goes on to state that in 2000, overweight and obese Americans cost the economy around $117 billion with $61 billion going to direct medical costs. Reading further into the article, it points out many diseases that can affect a person for a lifetime; because of that,

Statistical information confirms: obesity and overweight have already turned into an issue of national concern. In 2002, “a National Survey conducted by American Sports Data revealed that 61% of adults in the U.S. felt that they were overweight, 19% admitting that they were ‘considerably’ overweight” (American Sports Data). The major causes of obesity, overweight, and similar nutritional problems included genetics, population trends, hurried lifestyles, high-carbohydrate diets, less demanding workplaces, smoking cessation, and social class aspects (American Sports Data). That hurried lifestyles and a less demanding workplace contribute in the development of obesity trends is clear. But even more importantly, because the number of those who are overweight or obese exceeds one half of the American population, the government must control our diets. The information about the costs of obesity and related diseases is even more compelling.

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.