Reactive Health Care System

Not only has the cases of preventable chronic diseases increased over the years affecting half of the U.S population, they account for 86% of the health care costs. Programs and policies that address risk factors and causes of these diseases at their roots would not only promote public health but reduce the cost of health care both in treatment and hospitalization.

Preventive health care involves a wide range of interventions which help for maintaining good health habits, reducing the incidence of disease and disability, and slowing the progress of illnesses. These interventions can include providing childhood immunizations, raising taxes on cigarettes,

As per Healthy People 2020 most Americans do not consume healthy diets and are not physically active at levels needed to maintain proper health. As a result of these behaviors the nation has experienced a dramatic increase in obesity in the U.S with 1 in 3 adults (34.0%) and 1 and 6 children and adolescents (16.2%) are obese. In addition to grave health consequences of being overweight and obese. It significantly raises medical cost and causes a great burden on the U.S medical care delivery system ("Healthy People 2020," 2014, p. 1).

A lot of people wonder why we are so concerned about the obesity rate in America. Being obese causes terrible diseases and sometimes can lead to death. 18% of the deaths in the United States happened from 1986 to 2006 and were caused by the symptoms that came from being obese, these occurred mostly

Not all preventative care is necessarily cost effective, in fact some preventative procedures are quite expensive. Not all people benefit from preventative care, either. Preventative care also doesn't have to take place at a hospital or under the supervision of a healthcare professional. Things like more healthy school lunches, workplace wellness programs, agricultural policy and even the design of urban transport systems can influence the incidence of preventable diseases. (Begley) These are all valid points and should be taken into consideration if we expand the use of preventative care in our health

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

Within the last half century, the obesity rate in America has increased by twenty one percent from thirteen percent to thirty four percent of adults; while the percent of the population considered overweight has remained stagnate at thirty-four percent. Unfortunately, the increase in the obese population poses a large threat to the health and well-being of United States citizens. Obesity is not only an accumulation of fat mass, but has been linked to many diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The strain that each of these respective diseases contributes onto the United States healthcare system is great, but how exactly does obesity contribute to the occurrence of these three diseases? What health factors are affected by obesity and lead to the development of chronic illness?

From the data we can see the average BMI and the percentage of obese individuals increased with income for men while it decreased for women. For example, for men the prevalence of obesity increased from 19.48% for those with an average household income of less than $10,000, to 26.09% for those with $80,000 or more; while for women with similar income groups, we find a substantial decrease in the obesity rate from 26.71% to 17.38%. from the data we can extrapolate that the mean BMI and the overall prevalence of obesity are relatively higher among men than women. For men, the mean BMI and the overall prevalence of obesity are 27.57 and 24.83%, respectively. The corresponding values for women are 26.29% and

For patients with chronic conditions, costs, even with insurance, can add up very quickly with numerous doctor’s visits, emergency room visits, and hospital admissions. The CDC (2016), states, “Treating people with chronic diseases accounts for 86% of the nation’s health care costs” (Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Despite the amount of time and money spent preventing and treating

If the value of preventative care is evaluated solely on cost versus return, health economists argue that all preventative services are not necessarily cost effective. Cohen, Neumann, &

Obesity in the United States has been a serious problem affecting Americans and has been continually growing higher in numbers each year. American obesity has nearly doubled within the last 40 years and is now considered to be an epidemic that is affecting millions of people around the nation. According to the National institute of Diabetes and digestive and kidney Diseases, 31% of men and 35% of women are considered seriously overweight, along with 15% of children between the ages of six and nineteen are also overweight. The lack of physical inactivity and extreme poor dieting are catching up to almost the same threat as cigarettes and tobacco smoking. We as a nation are considered to be the fattest country in the world.

Besides, studies have shown that “The obesity epidemic ranks among the leading causes”. (WHO, 1998) are “poor diet and physical inactivity were the second leading cause of death in the USA in 2000 and may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of avoidable death” (Mokdad et al.,2004). “Obesity is a complex medical condition, which has social and psychological dimensions and some major economic aspects.” (WHO, 2000). “It affects people of all ages and socio-economic groups, and of both genders, and is not restricted to developed countries” (WHO, 2000). From

Obesity rates in the United States are alarming, with more than one-third of U.S. adults and 17% of children qualifying as obese with a Body Mass Index greater than 30.0 (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2015). Even more frightening is the growth rate of this crippling health epidemic; between 1980 and 2014, obesity has doubled for adults and tripled for children (CDC, 2015). The physical consequences of rising obesity rates in our country include an abundance of physical ailments including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, arthritis, elevated cholesterol, and even some cancers. Additionally, obesity-related health care costs to our country are estimated at $147 billion annually, plus the costs of productivity lost at

It is imperative for countries to have a functioning health care system so their citizens can live their best quality lives. However, the question is raised on whether to focus on the treatment of illnesses or the prevention of them. Preventive health care, if implemented correctly, could ideally prevent and stop illness and disease before drastic measures need to be taken, such as expensive surgeries. It is well-known knowledge that a healthy diet and exercise can help prevent illnesses, as a result, some programs might emphasize a healthy lifestyle. Sharon Begley’s article in Reuters mentions some programs that have helped reduce health care costs, such as the Boston Children’s Hospital asthma program that helps reduce patient’s environmental

Nicotine use is a leading preventable cause of death in the world, directly and indirectly responsible for 440,000 deaths per year. The health problems that result in tobacco use tally an annual of $75 billion in direct medical costs (Slovic 36). That money spent on medical problems for smokers should be used to pay for more important things in our society such as schools, libraries, childcare, etc.