Economic crisis, meet obesity crisis

The economic downsizing of the United States presents a good opportunity to address the downsizing of the average American, say doctors in an editorial published today in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. They argue that the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan, now being debated in the Senate, should include investments in infrastructure to decrease obesity.

The idea is that improvements in public health would decrease obesity-related health and economic costs (estimated at $100 billion per year) and would position Americans to become more economically competitive, say the authors of the paper, Dr. David Ludwig, of Children's Hospital Boston, and Harold Pollack, of the University of Chicago's Center for Health Administration Studies. In the absence of such action, they say, obesity and public health are likely to worsen.

"The economic downturn can be expected to reduce nutrition quality and physical activity, worsening obesity prevalence when society is least able to bear the escalating financial burden," they wrote.

In times of economic stress, consumers tend to eat less costly, high-calorie products, they say. Membership in gyms, fitness classes and sports leagues declines. Some schools may even cut physical education time. The economic stimulus plan, however, could create jobs and invest in the nation's health through such projects as building school kitchens to cook nutritious food; building sidewalks, bike paths, parks, sports facilities and community health centers; and changing government policies to revitalize farming.

Today's Los Angeles Times story on the stimulus plan debate notes that Senate Republicans object to a $75-million measure in the package that would help people quit smoking. That doesn't bode well for other public-health enhancements to the bill. But you can't blame health experts for trying. Here's how Ludwig and Pollack put it:

"Does U.S. society wish to produce vast amounts of low-quality food, neglect the social infrastructure to support physical activity, and sustain the inevitable economic and social harms of obesity-related diseases? Or will this opportunity to align economic and social policies with the interests of public health be seized by implementing a comprehensive, national obesity strategy? Failure to act now could ultimately cost society much more than even the sub-prime mortgage crisis."

-- Shari Roan

Photo: Susan Tibbles / For The Times

Comments

[TrueColorTech]

I would really like to see the census have this information on it or request it, so we could plot the difference. Becuase quite honestly food is so fast and cheap theses days (and has nothing good for you in it)

[Joel Colorado]

I like this. Especially getting bike paths paved every where. I do mean everywhere.

[Dan]

Thoughts about Obesity

Obesity has been defined as when excess body fat accumulates in one to where their physical overgrowth makes the person unhealthy to varying degrees. Obesity is different than being overweight, as others determine obesity to be of a more serious concern.
As measured by one’s body mass index (BMI), one’s BMI of 25 to 30 kg/m is considered overweight. If their BMI is 30 to 35 kg/m, they are class I obese, 35 to 40 BMI would be class II obese, and any BMI above 40 is class III obesity.
Presently, with obesity affecting children progressively more, the issue of obesity has become a serious public health concern.
Approximately half of all children under the age of 12 are either obese are overweight. About twenty percent of children ages 2 to 5 years old are either obese are overweight. The consequences of these stats on our children are very concerning, considering the health issues they may or likely experience as they get older.
Worldwide, nearly one and a half billion people are either obese or overweight. In the United States, about one third of adults are either obese or overweight.
Women of low socioeconomic status are likely to be twice as obese compared with those who are not at this status. It is now predicted that, for the first time in about 150 years, our life expectancy is suppose to decline because primarily of this obesity problem.
Morbid obesity is defined as one who has a body mass index of 30 kg/m or greater, and this surgery, along with the three other types of surgery for morbid obesity, should be considered a last resort after all other methods to reduce the patient’s weight have chronically failed. Morbid obesity greatly affects the health of the patient in a very negative way. It has about 10 co-morbidities that can develop if the situation is not corrected. Some if not most of these co-morbidities are life-threatening.
One solution beneficial in many cases of morbid obesity if one’s obesity is not eventually controlled or corrected is what is known as gastric bypass surgery. This is a type of bariatric surgery that essentially reduces the volume of the human stomach in order to correct and treat morbid obesity by surgical re-construction of the stomach and small intestine.
Patients for such surgeries are those with a BMI of greater than 40, or a BMI greater than 35 if the patient has co-morbidities aside from obesity. This surgery should be considered for the severely obese when other treatment options have failed. The standard of care illustrating as to whether this surgery is reasonable and necessary should be clarified.
There are three surgical variations of gastric bypass surgery, and one is chosen by the surgeon based on their experience and success from the variation they will utilize. Generally, these surgeries are procedures related to gastric restrictive operations or mal-absorptive operations.
Over 200,000 gastric bypass surgeries are performed each year, and this surgery being performed continues to progress as a suitable option for the morbidly obese. There is evidence that this surgery is particularly beneficial for those obese patients that have non-insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus as well.
It is believed that the results of this surgery to correct morbid obesity greatly limits or prevents such co-morbidities associated with those who are obese. Yet about two percent of those who undergo this surgery die as a result from about a half a dozen complications that could occur. However, the surgery reduces the overall mortality of the patient by 40 percent or so, yet this percentage is debatable due to conflicting clinical studies at times.
Age of the patient should be taken into consideration, as to whether or not the risks of this surgery outweigh any potential benefits for the patient who may have existing co-morbidities that have already caused physiological damage to the patient. Also what should be determined by the surgeon is the amount of safety, effectiveness, and rationale for a particular patient regarding those patients who are elderly, for example.
Many feel bariatric surgery such as this should be considered as a last resort when exercise and diet have failed for a great length of time.
If a person or a doctor is considering this type of surgery, there is a website dedicated to bariatric surgery, which is: www.asmbs.org,

Dan Abshear

[Global Dating]

Obesity is definitely a problem in the U.S. After traveling abroad for many years, I always get a rude awakening when coming back to the U.S. You never see so many obese people in any other country. Something definitely needs to be done about this problem.