Today, two-thirds of U.S. adults and nearly one in three
children struggle because they are overweight or have obesity. The
effects of the nation’s obesity epidemic are immense: taxpayers,
businesses, communities and individuals spend hundreds of billions of dollars
each year due to obesity, including an estimated $168 billion in medical
costs. Obesity is the reason that the current generation of youth is
predicted to live a shorter life than their parents.
Much can be done to
reverse the epidemic, yet important opportunities to tackle obesity at the
national policy level -- including changes that enable more Americans to eat
healthy and be active, as well as those that provide appropriate medical
treatment for patients -- have gone largely unmet. The Campaign works to
fill this gap. By bringing together leaders from across industry,
academia and public health with policymakers and their advisors, the Campaign
provides the information and guidance that decision-makers need to make policy
changes that will reverse one of the nation’s costliest and most prevalent
diseases.
New Study Shows Importance of Calculating Full Cost Savings of Chronic Disease Prevention
Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, 5.9.12 Cost estimates for legislative proposals to address chronic health conditions like obesity use a time period that is too short to capture the potential economic value of preventing related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. That is the finding of a study released today by the Campaign to End Obesity. The study concludes that this failure limits policymakers’ ability to consider effective policies to address these costly conditions. The study, “Assessing the Economics of Obesity and Obesity Interventions,” addresses how policymakers measure the benefits of policies to address chronic diseases. Authors Michael O’Grady and James Capretta describe how Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimates, which generally cover a 10-year period, do not capture the costly complications of chronic diseases, including those associated with obesity.
It's time to serve up some big incentives to curb obesity
LA Times, 5.14.12 A study last year by the Society of Actuaries calculated the total economic cost of an overweight and obese population in the United States and Canada at about $300 billion a year (with 90% of that figure attributable to America's dietary issues). Now comes word from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that, if current trends continue, about 42% of the U.S. population will be obese by 2030. In other words, an additional 30 million Americans will count themselves among the way-fat within 18 years, and about 11% of the population will be severely obese — that is, at least 100 pounds overweight.
Anti-obesity strategy calls for making BMI a ‘vital sign’
Post and Courier, 5.12.12 Doctors assess patients’ breathing, heart rate and blood pressure routinely at office visits. Soon, they may be adding body mass index (BMI) to that list. Tracking this measure - an indicator of whether someone is obese or overweight - at medical checkups as if it were a vital sign is among a new set of strategies recommended for battling obesity, which some experts predict will affect 42 percent of adults by 2030. Although professional medical societies have said for years that physicians should monitor patients’ body mass index, most doctors do not. A 2006 survey of family physicians found that fewer than half checked BMIs for children older than 2, even though 71 percent knew that such checks had been recommended.
Chronicling the Pounds, Their Risks and Causes
New York Times, 5.11.12 During the production of “The Weight of the Nation,” a set of films about obesity that HBO will start showing this week, John Hoffman watched over and over again the commercials for sugary snacks and gut-busting meals that appear in excerpts. He knew exactly which buttons the ads were trying to push and why, yet he still was not immune to them. “When salt is sprinkled over fries and juicy meats are sliced open in front of my eyes, I can feel myself going, ‘Oh, that looks good,’ ” Mr. Hoffman said in an interview, recounting a day when one of the advertising sequences was being stitched together by editors. The ads, he said, “were operating in parts of my brain that are outside my control.”
Obesity is bankrupting America, disease costs soar
Natural News, 5.6.12 New analyses of data surrounding obesity reveal that it is costing the nation twice as much in medical bills as previously thought - even more than smoking. "As committee chairmen, Cabinet secretaries, the head of Medicare and health officials see these really high costs, they are more interested in knowing, 'what policy knob can I turn to stop this hemorrhage?'" Michael O'Grady of the National Opinion Research Center told Reuters. O'Grady is the author of a new report called the Campaign to End Obesity, "which brings together representatives from business, academia and the public health community to work with policymakers on the issue," the Newswire reported.
Will Obesity Reverse Rise in U.S. Life Expectancy?
PBS, 5.8.12 Public health experts have long warned of a growing obesity epidemic in America. This week, the Institute of Medicine and others launched a major campaign in hopes of curbing the problem. Ray Suarez and Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health, and Tevi Troy, who frequently collaborates with the Campaign to End Obesity, discuss the personal and public consequences of obesity.
Obesity could affect 42% of Americans by 2030
USA Today, 5.6.12 A new forecast on obesity in America has health experts fearing a dramatic jump in health care costs if nothing is done to bring it under control. The projection, released Monday, warns that 42% of Americans may end up obese by 2030 (up from 36% in 2010), and 11% could be severely obese, roughly 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight (vs. 6% in 2010). "If nothing is done, it's going to hinder efforts for health care cost containment," says Justin Trogdon, a research economist with RTI International, a non-profit organization in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.
House Republicans Raid Prevention Fund This afternoon, despite a veto threat from the White House, the House of Representatives voted 215 to 195 to approve legislation that would extend the interest rate paid on federal student loans. The legislation was paid for by cutting funding to the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act.
NewPublicHealh.org: The Cost of Obesity and ROI of Prevention
A new report, Assessing the Economics of Obesity and Obesity Interventions, by researchers from the Campaign to End Obesity, looks at the costs of the obesity epidemic and the possible array of interventions that could prevent obesity and save the country money.
Today, the Campaign to End Obesity expressed concerns over new findings in a report by Cornell University researchers. According to the report, “The Medical Care Costs of Obesity,” it is now believed that the total cost of health care associated with U.S. obesity is $190.2 billion a year, or 20.6 percent of total U.S. health spending – twice as much as previously reported.
New Obesity Counseling Coverage Can Help Patients And Taxpayers By Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH, Surgeon General for the State of Arkansas and Director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI). Dr. Thompson serves on the board of the Campaign to End Obesity.
With primary care medicine facing ever increasing pressures—fewer doctors to treat more patients and a continual maze of restrictions on reimbursement—primary care practitioners are trying to diagnose and treat obesity with one hand tied behind their backs. The result, unfortunately, is that for what is likely the nation’s costliest disease, strains on coverage have been yet another needless hurdle to getting patients diagnosed and treated in a clinical environment.
A comprehensive approach to diagnosing and treating obesity is just good medicine, and physicians need good reimbursement policies to make this practicepractical. Fortunately,a recent rulingout from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is one bright spot in beginning to change this trend. CMS has ruled that it will cover services for high intensity obesity counseling.
Congressional Workshop to Explore Fact vs. Fiction in Obesity Policy On Thursday, July 14, the Campaign to End Obesity will convene congressional staff, key members of the public health community and industry to identify causes of the obesity epidemic and potential solutions. “Fact v. Fiction: The TRUTH about Obesity in America” will consider what science says are the main contributors to overweight and obesity; what is being done at the community and policy levels in response to the epidemic; and what hurdles exist in treating obesity.
The Campaign to End Obesity today announced that Karen Licitra, Johnson & Johnson Company Group Chairman and Worldwide Franchise Chairman for Ethicon Endo-Surgery will assume the position of Board Chair.
Campaign Honors Congressional Champions for Work Combating Obesity The Campaign to End Obesity recognized eight outstanding Members of Congress whose work has been instrumental in moving forward provisions to end the obesity epidemic. In its fourth annual “Breakfast with Champions,” leaders from across industry, academia and public health convened to acknowledge these key players in health care, nutrition and transportation policy, among other areas. The event also served to encourage these visionaries’ colleagues to take up needed reforms that will reverse one of America’s costliest medical challenges.
What the Different Budget Proposals Mean for Obesity Prevention and Treatment As the White House and Congress continue to refine budget proposals for the remainder of FY 2011 and beyond, several proposals have been introduced that would threaten or reduce funding for critical obesity prevention and treatment programs. These include a six-month spending bill for 2011 (H.R. 1473) that is expected to pass the House and Senate by April 15; House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal for FY 2012 (covering the next ten years); and President Obama’s Proposed budget for FY 2012. Below are summaries of how each of the three plans could potentially impact anti-obesity programs.
The Campaign to End Obesity announced the addition of Dr. Joe Thompson to its Board of Directors. Thompson brings significant expertise from both clinical and policy perspectives as Surgeon General for the State of Arkansas, Director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) and Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity (RWJF Center).
To learn more about changes in federal policy that will enable more
Americans
to eat healthy and be active, as well as those that provide appropriate
medical treatment for patients, visit the Campaign to End Obesity Action
Fund's website by clicking here.
* In 2010, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that
nearly 20 percent of the increase in U.S. health care spending (from
1987‐2007) was caused by obesity.
* The annual health costs related to obesity in the U.S. are as high
as $168
billion, and nearly 17 percent of U.S. medical costs can be attributed
on obesity,
according to research released by the National Bureau of Economic
Research.
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