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Obesity and America

Obesity and America. BY:KATIE SATTERLEE HCM 3010. Introduction How much has obesity risen over the years? - Half of Americans are overweight /obese today ( Thompson et al., 2000) Why is there such an increase? Fast Food Increased technology Lack of nutritional education. Introduction.

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Obesity and America

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  1. Obesity and America BY:KATIE SATTERLEE HCM 3010

  2. Introduction • How much has obesity risen over the years? - Half of Americans are overweight /obese today ( Thompson et al., 2000) • Why is there such an increase? • Fast Food • Increased technology • Lack of nutritional education

  3. Introduction • What is the cost of Americas obesity? Who’s paying for it? - Yearly cost for obese/overweight population is in the billions -Not everyone pays the financial cost • Can health improve and costs go down?

  4. Rise of Obesity • People not educated about nutrition can have problems with being overweight. • In industrialized countries, there are more overweight and obese people in communities with lower income and less education (Kopelman 2000). • Many low income communities don’t have access to healthy food (Papas, et al., 2007).

  5. Rise of Obesity • Constant advertisement of fast food that is cheap, deep fried, fattening and unhealthy. • Unhealthy fast food is a main staple in America. -Cultures that move to the U.S. have increases in weight from their native relatives. -Ex: Pima Indians who moved to the U.S. weigh 55 more pounds then those that still live in Mexico (Kopelman 2000) • Multiple studies show that over the past two decades U.S. adults BMI has increased and now more then half of U.S. adults are now overweight or obese (Thompson et al., 2000)

  6. Rise of Obesity • People are less motivated to lose weight because new technologies and medications decrease the physical health cost of being overweight. New drugs and procedures now treat cholesterol, blood pressure, heart problems and provide better ways to manage diabetes. • New technology also helps employees be more productive with less physical work at the risk of their health because they are not moving as much. ( Finkelstein & Strombotne, 2010)

  7. Cost of Obesity • A study shows that an obese or overweight individual pays $585.44 a year in medical costs compared to $333.24 for a non-obese person. • The main cost that is higher for an obese/overweight individual is medications. (Raebel et al., 2000) • Yearly the cost is $147 billion just for the overweight/obese population (Finkelstein & Strombotne, 2010). • It is predicted that this amount could rise to $860-$956 billion by 2030 (Wang et al., 2008).

  8. Cost of Obesity • The cost of obesity or being over weight is covered if a person has health insurance, but may pay a higher premium, but some of this population has Medicaid. • There are more overweight people in the low income, low education communities ( Kopelman 2000). • The overweight/obese low income population does not feel the financial cost of their weight problem and may not be aware of the cost.

  9. Access & Education • Low income/less educated communities may not always have the knowledge, money and access for a healthy lifestyle. • People with lower incomes can be affected by their environments, smaller activity spaces and less transportation ( Papas et al., 2007).

  10. Access & Education • Those affected by their environment need help to create change and initiatives to change their surroundings -Public and private sectors, educators, food producers, urban planners, transportation experts and general public can all help. (Wang etl al., 2008)

  11. Access & Education • Keystone Mercy Health Plan’s Health Ministry Program • Provides free access to health education • Education offered: nutrition, physical activity, chronic diseases, controlling diabetes and preventative steps in not becoming unhealthy • Intensive sessions, health assessments and screenings offered • Healthy living guides are handed out to take home. The results of this program showed improvements in people’s health when they had access to free programs (Keystone mercy health plan, 2000)

  12. Improving Health to Reduce Cost • Reduce fat content in fries, creating better access for recreational activities, taxing high fat and sugary foods (Swinburn,Gill, Kumanyika, 2005) • Insurance companies lowering premiums for those who weigh less and live healthy (Finkelstein & Strombotne, 2010)

  13. Improving Health to Reduce Cost • Incentives at the work place to be healthier: - North Suburban Medical Center has a program that promotes employees to reach a healthy BMI and this will be rewarded with an increase in pay. - Educational handouts are offered to help the employees live a healthier life. This program began to improve people’s lifestyles and weight loss immediately (J. Smith, personal communication, June 2011)

  14. Improving Health to Reduce Cost • Wal-Mart Creates Demand For Affordable Nutrition. (Denver Post 2011) -”While healthier products sometimes rely on more expensive ingredients, Wal-Mart’s size enables it to create efficiencies in product packaging, transportation and other parts of the supply chain to offset these costs” ( Wirthman, 2011). • Wal-Mart lowering the cost of healthy foods provides the access needed to a healthier lifestyle for the lower income population.

  15. Conclusion • When half of U.S. adults are overweight or obese it’s clear steps need to be taken to help Americans lead a healthier lifestyle. • Americans can begin to lower their weight and health costs with certain steps: • More awareness of the obesity epidemic • Better incentives to reduce unhealthy food consumption • More companies willing to lower prices on healthier food • More community based programs that provide healthy lifestyle education • And better motivation in and out of the work place

  16. References • Fineklstein, E.A., & Strombotne, K.L. (2010) The economics of obesity. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 91, Retrieved from http://www.ajcn.org/content/91/5/1520S.Short • Kopelman mercy health plan. (2000). Interactive workshops enhance access to health education and screening, improve outcomes for low income and minority women. AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange, Retrieved from http://innovations.ahrg.gov • Papas, M.A., Alberg, A.J., Ewing, R., Helzlsouer, K.J., Gary T.L., & Klassen, A.C. (2007). The built environment and obesity. Oxford Journals, 29, Retrieved from http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/1/129.full • Raebel, M.A., Malone, D.C., Conner, D.A., Xu, S., Porter, J.A., & Lanty, F.A., (2004). Health services use and health care costs of obese and nonobese individuals. Archives of Internal Medicine, 164, 2135-2140. Retrieved from http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/164/19/2134 • Smith J. (2011). North Suburban Medical Center • Swinburn, B., Gill, T., & Kumanyika. S. (2005). Obesity prevention: A proposed framework for translating evidence into action. The International Association for the Study of Obesity, 6,23-33. Retrieved from http://www.internetgroup.ca/clientnet_new/docs/Obesityevidenceframework.pdf • Thompson, D., Brown, J.B., Nichols, G.A., Elmer, P.J., & Oster, G. (2001). Body mass index and future healthcare costs: A retrospective cohort study. Obesity, a Research Journal, 9,210-218. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v9/n3/full/oby200123a.html • Wang, Y., Beydoun. M.A., Liang, L., Caballero, B., & Kumanyika, S.K. (2008). Will all americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the us obesity epidemic. Obesity a Research Journal, 16, 2323- 2330. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v16/n10/abs/oby2008351a.html • Wirthman, L. (2011, November first). Wal-mart creates demand for affordable nutrition. Denver Post.

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