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Obesity an Epidemic

© Stephanie Hembree

Obesity is a chronic disease that affects 51 million adults. It is associated with 300,000 U.S. deaths each year (this compares with 400,000 deaths associated with cigarette smoking) and it cost the U.S. In 2000 it cost the U.S. $117 billion. From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,read what the Surgeon General has to say: OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY THREATEN U.S. HEALTH GAINS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls Obesity A Public Health Epidemic and details some health risks associated with obesity.

A research from UCLA/Rand Managed Care Center for Psychiatric Disorders in California compared the effects of obesity, smoking and problem drinking on health care use. He found that obesity raises a person’s health care costs by 36% and medication costs by 77%. He believes that obesity is more of a health problem than either problem drinking or smoking (these two groups have both received more attention in the recent decades in clinical practice.

In American society the obese are stigmatized. These psychological effects of social rejection, can be as difficult as the physical problems. The reasons for obesity are not very well understood. Is it a problem of too much food, too little exercise, or a genetic one? I believe it's a combination. For more on Obesity and Genetics. To Assess your risks visit The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

There is hope that at least the government is being to understand the plight of overweight Americans. On April 2, 2002 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determined that obesity is a disease, which allows people diagnosed obesity to deduct the cost of weight loss programs as medical expenses. For more details on this deduction read Are you entitled to a tax deduction.

The American Obesity Association (AOA) is a non-profit corporation founded by researchers in the field of obesity. “The mission of the AOA is to act as an agent of change, move society to re-conceptualize disease and to fashion appropriate strategies to deal with the epidemic.” According to the AOA “No human condition, not race, religion, gender, ethnicity or disease state, compares to obesity in prevalence and prejudice, mortality and morbidity, sickness and stigma.” This site offers education, research, prevention, treatment, consumer protection and discrimination information.

If you are having problems with your insurance company or feel that you have been a target of discrimination, The Obesity Law & Advocacy Center might be able to help you.

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