The High Cost of Obesity
Tuesday July 28, 2009
Obesity is becoming expensive, and I'm not talking about the cost of food, that's another issue. Obesity-related diseases cost billions of dollars, possibly as high as 147 billion dollars in the United States alone, at least according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And with the rates of obesity climbing, the cost of treating obesity and obesity-related diseases will continue to grow.So what can be done about it? I guess, one of two things. Either raise more money to cover the extra costs (some people support taxes on sodas and other junk foods) or devise public health programs to help educate people and reduce obesity. Both seem difficult to achieve, in my opinion. Many people balk at the thought of higher taxes and knowledge of obesity and its effects seems to lose out to temptation. And what can each individual do combat obesity rates for a whole population? If you have any ideas, let me know.
Maybe you can't do much about what your neighbors eat, but you can take control of your diet (and maybe your family's diets). Here's how:
Daily Nutrition TipPhoto © Michal Zacharzewski
Comments
The first step to truly ending obesity (and hunger) is to define what causes and perpetuates poverty and address that.
FACT: Health food is more expensive than the crap.
Low income people suffer more from unhealthy diets. If you’re on a limited income trying to feed a family, in a distorted sense you’re behaving rationally by choosing heavily sweetened and fat-laden foods. Access to healthy food is one of those issues that anyone – no matter their racial, ethnic, geographic or political stripes – can agree upon. A recent USDA report also says that while “supermarkets and large grocery stores have lower prices than smaller stores,” “easy access to all food, rather than lack of access to specific healthy foods, may be a more important factor in explaining increases in obesity. In short, the problem isn’t the good food you can’t get, but really the bad food you can. This trend has hit low-income groups particularly hard. The obesity rates for “poor” and “near-poor” people stand at 36 percent and 35.4 percent, respectively, against an overall average of 29.2 percent for “non-poor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
The price gap between the two food categories is growing.The overall cost of food consumed at home, when adjusted for inflation, has been essentially unchanged since 1980. But over the same time, the price of soft drinks plunged 30 percent, and the price of candy and other sweets fell 20 percent. Meanwhile, the price of fresh fruits and vegetables rose 50 percent.
FACT: Our food system is shot through with corn.
Corn feeds the animals that feed us: more than 50 percent of the harvest goes into domestic animal operations. About 5 percent flows into high-fructose corn syrup, adding a sweet jolt to soft drinks, confections, and breakfast cereal. All told, it’s a cheap source of calories and taste. Yet all this convenience comes with a price — and not just an environmental one.
http://www.thegrio.com/2009/06/access-to-healthy-food-is.php
The rates of obesity will change when food policy in this country changes. It’s amazing that highly processed foods can be purchased for cheaper prices than fresh vegetables. Something is seriously wrong with that picture! If we make healthy food more accessible to the impoverished we might actually see declines in obesity. Farmer’s Markets are great starts but they aren’t necessarily easily accessible in many urban areas.
There is a party in politics which finally got the message there is a relationship between low income and more weight and more health problems, DUH!!! Well the problem is those who work can’t afford to purchase healthy foods and those on food stamps are getting little food stamps so they buy the less ‘healthy’ and they get more overweight so the government approves and encourages being more overweight and the ‘free market’ forces charges way too much for healthy food, but I have seen wally world is doing the right thing by having less salt and I was able to afford lettuce and such which is very healthy too. I think the answer is NOT to safe costs and have more ‘tax cuts’ and then the hospitals have to have more operations for those with more health problems. I hope to get more lettuce and cucumbers the next time I go to Wally World if they are affordable which feels very good to me. I buy Vitamins which are much better than the drugs the doc pushes on me, so I am careful now. My gov has been cutting taxes and yet despite the negative side affects, Wally World fills the wholes left by this dude.
I am not sure if this is okay, but here goes; I get foods from Angel Food and allows me to eat healthier although I mostly avoid salty and very much worse blood pressure Pig Meat and the pig flu encouraged this, but the high blood pressure of 140/90 took the case, it was that 2 weeks ago and today 7-29 it was 118/68 and no pig meat and I am walking much more, but I will hopefully get medicaid approved socks and shoes soon so I can walk more, my leg has been looking much better now. Well, now you have a complete opinion. I am hoping the Stock Market won’t go up because they make healthy foods impossible for low income, I am NOT impoverished or poor, I am very much low income. I don’t normally buy fish or seafood since its normally too expensive, but I love the taste and diabetics need the proteen, but very expensive, but sadly this is Chinese.
One thing that may be helpful is for third party providers, (health insurers, PPO’s, HMO’s) to provide better coverage for nutrition counseling and coaching. I am a licensed, registered dietitian who has been helping people successfully manage their weight and eating behavior for over 20 years but many have to pay out of pocket. Some policies cover only 3 visits per year. It takes a lifetime to develop our habits, it’s unlikey one will be able to make permanent changes with only a few sessions with a nutritionist.
One of the things I help my clients with is developing is self accountability. We all need to be accountable for our behavior. Sometimes we don’t realize how our choices or lack there of have such an impact on others, in this case society in general.
If you struggle with your weight, seek out the help of a skilled, licensed practitioner. Many of us offer group programs that are affordable and accessible and certainly a lot less costly than taking no action.
Having spent nearly 8.5 years developing an idea; a complete system for eating healthy is now available in four easy steps. Select your calorie level, has a shopping list, delicious & nutritious meals and removes the guesswork out of what to eat and how much to eat. Whether you have diabetes, struggle with weight management issues, a fitness enthusiast or just tired and ready to implement a healthier lifestyle the “Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner” is a win win for most all populations.