America is quickly tumbling into a health-care crisis. Just some facts from our friends at the CDC and other government agencies.
Obesity related medical conditions are widespread and have been tabulated at $75 billion dollars. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree with this number:
According to a study of national costs attributed to both overweight and obesity, medical expenses accounted for 9.1 percent of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 and may have reached as high as $78.5 billion ($92.6 billion in 2002 dollars).
Medicare and Medicaid financed approximately one-half of these costs directly hitting the U.S. taxpayers. Obesity also carries numerous indirect costs. A 1994 study by the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) showed that these indirect costs were significant. Using the 1994 data, NHIS found that cost of lost productivity attributed to obesity was $3.9 billion and reflected 39.2 million lost days of lost work. Perhaps most dangerous statistic is the morbidity that obesity is responsible for. Up to 400,000 people die from obesity complications annually.
Is this burden too heavy for the US to carry on current trends? I dont know where to draw the line in responsibility because I do not believe in taking away healthcare from anyone in America. Where does prevention play an integral role in our economy.
I am curious to know how some of you feel about this issue because I am truly concerned about healthcare in the United States. I show no hate toward overweight individuals but I think that this needs some attention. What possible solutions are there to this problem?
Obesity related medical conditions are widespread and have been tabulated at $75 billion dollars. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree with this number:
According to a study of national costs attributed to both overweight and obesity, medical expenses accounted for 9.1 percent of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 and may have reached as high as $78.5 billion ($92.6 billion in 2002 dollars).
Medicare and Medicaid financed approximately one-half of these costs directly hitting the U.S. taxpayers. Obesity also carries numerous indirect costs. A 1994 study by the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) showed that these indirect costs were significant. Using the 1994 data, NHIS found that cost of lost productivity attributed to obesity was $3.9 billion and reflected 39.2 million lost days of lost work. Perhaps most dangerous statistic is the morbidity that obesity is responsible for. Up to 400,000 people die from obesity complications annually.
Is this burden too heavy for the US to carry on current trends? I dont know where to draw the line in responsibility because I do not believe in taking away healthcare from anyone in America. Where does prevention play an integral role in our economy.
I am curious to know how some of you feel about this issue because I am truly concerned about healthcare in the United States. I show no hate toward overweight individuals but I think that this needs some attention. What possible solutions are there to this problem?
