Obesity in America - Facts, Cost, Quotes and Stats

416 E. GEORGIA STREET, TALLAHASSEE, FL 323 01 * 877.625.2399 * www.healthy-america.org * info@healthy-america.org Obesity in America - Facts, Cost, Quotes and Stats 19.6% of US children aged 6 to 11 years and 18.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years are overweight - National Center for Health Statistics (NHANES). Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents - United States 2008. Troubling statistics reported that overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults Ibid That likelihood increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese. Overweight children suffer emotionally, too, facing social discrimination, bullying, poor self-esteem and depression. - Dietz, William. Health Consequences of Obesity in Youth: Childhood Predictors of Adult Disease. Pediatrics 1998; 101:518. Think about this: in the next hour, 35 Americans will die from inactivity and poor nutrition. 300,000 American s die needlessly each year from diseases and healthy conditions related to sedentary lifestyle or poor eating habits. (Tommy Thompson, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) We are beginning to see a number of serious medical disorders occurring in our children that were previously seen only in adults all associated with obesity. As a result, this may be the first generation that may not live longer than their parents. (Dr. Phil McGraw) In the past 30 years the occurrence of children who are overweight and obese has more than tripled. (CDC) In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. (CDC) Employers are becoming more aware that overweight and obesity, lack of physical activity, are adversely affecting the health and productivity of their employees and ultimately, the businesses' bottom line. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) "The financial impact of obesity on business is truly shocking--never mind the quality of life for the individuals involved organizations lose more than $12 billion per year because of higher health-care utilization rates and medical claims, lower productivity, increased absenteeism and elevated insurance premiums. (Helen Darling, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health.) The increasing obesity epidemic poses substantial challenges to the U.S. workforce. Obesity and its related health conditions hurt the health and well being of the current workforce. Additionally, the significant increased prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents which large employers pay for as dependents forebodes an even greater problem with obesity that large employers will likely confront with the future workforce. (Obesity Institute) Child obesity is impacting employers today and will into the future as these children become the workforce of tomorrow The good news is that employers can play a critical role in fighting

the childhood obesity epidemic by helping families develop healthy lifestyles at work and in the home. (Helen Darling, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health) Obesity has grown from 6.5 percent for children in 1980 to 19.6 percent in 2008. Elaine Taylor, nursing professor at North Georgia College & State University Michelle Obama on Childhood Obesity: If I could make those kinds of changes and it could help my family in such a significant way, I wanted to make sure that we were doing that with the rest of the country." she said. "If I'm having this problem in my household and I don't know it, then what's going on with everybody else? Since 1987, obesity related health spending in the private insurance industry has increased from $3.6 billion to a whopping $36.5 billion annually. Emory University has a new study out that shows the rise in costs is not attributable to higher fees per patient but rather to a dramatic increase in the number of obese patients. Between 1987 and 2002 the number of privately insured obese adults doubled. Today it is estimated that almost 24% of all privately insured adults are classified as obese. Obesity, and its related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol, is largely preventable. Brought about by poor lifestyle choices, the vast majority of obese patients could reduce their weight and consequently their need for greater-than-normal medical care, by adopting healthier eating and lifestyle habits. According to researchers, the $36.5 billion in obesity-related expenditures for the private insurance industry represents less than half of the total spent for all obese patients in the U.S., including those on public health care programs (Medicare and Medicaid). In 2002, the most recent year for which Medicare and Medicaid costs have been calculated, it is estimated that approximately $46.3 billion was spent by taxpayers to treat obesity-related illnesses. The medical care costs of obesity in the United States are staggering. In 2008 dollars, these costs totaled about $147 billion (Finkelstein, 2009). Finkelstein, EA, Trogdon, JG, Cohen, JW, and Dietz, W. Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: Payer- and service-specific estimates. Health Affairs 2009; 28(5): w822-w831. If current trends continue, total U.S. health care costs associated with obesity could grow from $147 billion in 2008 to as much as $957 billion by 2030. -Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease

Dr. Kenneth E. Thorpe, leader of the Emory University study, says that current approaches to controlling health care costs are not working because policy makers have ignored the true drivers of the costs. Increases in the number of people getting treatment for serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol are directly linked to population increases in obesity. If insurers, businesses and the government are serious about reigning in health care spending, then obesity prevention should be at the top of their agenda, Thorpe said. Obesity and other illnesses threaten to bankrupt the American taxpayer in coming years if nothing is done to control it. The following are excerpts from "PREVENTION MAKES COMMON CENTS" - a recently released report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: In 2003, it is estimated that the U.S. will spend $1.66 trillion on health care expenditures. Health care spending is growing faster than the gross domestic product (GDP) and is projected to account for 17.7 percent of the GDP by 2012, up from 14.1 percent in 2001. A small number of chronic disorders-such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases-account for the majority of deaths each year, and the medical care costs of people with chronic diseases account for more than 75 percent of the nation's medical care costs. As the population of the United States ages substantially over the next several decades, the prevalence of chronic diseases and their impact on health care costs will likely increase. Expenditures for health care in the United States continue to rise and are estimated to reach $1.66 trillion in 2003. Much of these costs can be attributed to the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and asthma. Results from the 2007 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 34.2% of U.S. adults aged 20 years and over are overweight, 33.8% are obese, and 5.7% are extremely obese. Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2 19 years are obese. In 2000, an estimated 17 million people (6.2 percent of the population) had diabetes, costing the U.S. approximately $132 billion. People with diabetes lost more than 8 days per year from work, accounting for 14 million disability days. Diabetes affects 25.8 million people of all ages 8.3 percent of the U.S. population DIAGNOSED 18.8 million people UNDIAGNOSED 7.0 million people Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Total costs, direct and indirect, is $174 billion.

Direct medical costs Indirect costs $116 billion after adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes $58 billion disability, work loss, premature mortality Medical expenses for people with diabetes are more than 2 times higher than for people without diabetes. Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. In 2010, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 had a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one. Cardiovascular diseases cost the Nation more than $300 billion each year. A study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reports that adults with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40 are nearly 60 percent more likely to die from cancer. Those with a BMI of more than 30 represent nearly 50 percent of diabetics, are twice as likely to suffer from high blood pressure, and are three times more likely to die from coronary heart disease. Getting inactive Americans to become active would save $77 Billion per year in medical costs. Source: NANA, 2003 Obesity costs employers 39 million lost work days, 239 million restricted work days, 90 million bed days and 63 million physician visits per year, according to a study published in the journal Obesity Research and cited by the National Business Group on Health in its Current Estimates of the Economic Cost of Obesity in the U.S. Number of Americans Affected by Diet-and Inactivity- Related Diseases 1. Seriously Overweight/Obese (1) 129,250,000 2. High Blood Pressure (1) 50,000,000 3. Diabetes (2) 17,000,000 4. Coronary Heart Disease (1) 12,900,000 5. Osteoporosis (3) 10,000,000 6. Cancer (4) 8,900,000 7. Stroke (1) 4,700,000 (1)American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics. 003 Update. Dallas, TX: AHA, 2002. (2) CDC/DHHS. Diabetes: Disabling, Deadly, and on the Rise, at-a-glance 2002. Atlanta: CDC, 2002. (3) National Osteoporosis Foundation. Osteoporosis Disease Statistics:Fast Facts. Accessed at http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/stats.htm on January 10, 2002.

(4) American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2003. Atlanta, GA: ACS, 2003. Deaths per Year: 1. Diet/Physical Activity 400,000-500,000 2. Tobacco 435,000 3. Alcohol 85,000 4. Microbial Agents 75,000 5. Toxic Agents 55,000 6. Motor Vehicles 43,000 7. Firearms 29,000 8. Sexual Behaviors 20,000 9. Drug Use 17,000 Source: Mokdad AH et al, JAMA 2004; 291:1238-1245 The Pentagon, for example, already considers obesity a nat ional security threat because an estimated 27 percent of young Americans between the ages of 17 and 24, prime recruiting targets for the US armed forces, are too fat to fight. Source: Battle against obesity is taking a partisan turn; Cynthia Tucker, Tallahassee Democrat; 6-17-2012 More Stats: Current assessments indicate that over 60% of Americans meet criteria for being either overweight or obese (Obesity in America). Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5%, making it the 5 th year in a row that the state topped the list (New Report Finds Florida, 2009). 4 states now have rates above 30%, including Mississippi, Alabama (31.2%), West Virginia (31.1%) and Tennessee (30.2%) (New report finds Florida, 2009). 8 of the 10 states with the highest % age of obese adults are in the South (New report finds Florida, 2009). Colorado continued to have the lowest % age of obese adults at 18.9% (New report finds Florida, 2009). Overweight adults (up to 30 lbs) are 20-40% more likely to die prematurely (Lai, 2009). Between 1971-2000, the average man added 168 calories to his diet, the average woman added 335 calories to her diet (women eat 13% more than men) (Lai, 2009). Experts predict that 9 out of 10 people will become overweight or obese at some point in their lifetime and if recent trends continue, almost EVERY adult will either be overweight or obese by 2048 (Lai, 2009). More than 85% of all diabetes cases are due to obesity and being overweight.

More than 70% of all heart-related disease is heavily correlated with being overweight and/or obese. Almost 45% of all breast and colon cancer cases are heavily related to obesity and/or being overweight. More than 30% of all gall bladder operations are caused by obesity and/or being overweight. More than one quarter of all obese people have hypertension (high blood pressure). 15% of youngsters ages 6-19 and 10% of children 2 through 5 are considered seriously overweight (Route 66, 2008). % age of obese or overweight children is at or above 30% in 30 states (How obesity policies, 2009). Mississippi also had the highest rate of obese and overweight children (ages 10 to 17) at 44.4% (How obesity policies, 2009). Minnesota and Utah had the lowest rate at 23.1% (How obesity policies, 2009). 8 of the 10 states with the highest rates of obese and overweight children are in the South (How obesity policies, 2009). Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980 (How obesity policies, 2009). Nineteen states now have nutritional standards for school lunches, breakfasts and snacks that are stricter than current USDA requirements (How obesity policies, 2009). 5 years ago, only 4 states had legislation requiring stricter standards (How obesity policies, 2009). 27 states have nutritional standards for competitive foods sold a la carte, in vending machines, in school stores or in school bake sales (How obesity policies, 2009). 5 years ago, only 6 states had nutritional standards for competitive foods (How obesity policies, 2009). Only 4% of children were considered obese in 1982 (Arnold, 2009). More than one quarter of all obese children are showing symptoms of the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Arnold, 2009). Of those children developing Type II diabetes, more than 60% of them are also showing one or more signs of cardiovascular disease (Arnold, 2009). Our children are taught how and what to eat by us their parents and advisors (Arnold, 2009). A child has anywhere from a 30% to a 75% chance of having problems with their weight if one or both of their parents are overweight (Simard, 2009). One study of 5- to 17-year-olds found that 70% of obese children had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease and 39% of obese children had at least two risk factors. (Obesity: Halting the epidemic, 2009).

Preschoolers are inactive for much of their preschool day, with 89% of physical activity characterized as sedentary (Amid rising childhood, 2009). Even when they played outside, a time when children are expected to move around, 56% of their activities were sedentary (Amid rising childhood, 2009). The percentage of children ages 6 to 11 in the United States who were obese increased to nearly 20 percent in 2008 from 7 percent in 1980. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents ages 12 to 19 who were obese increased to 18 percent from 5 percent over the same period. (CDC) 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese (1 in 5 preschoolers, 2009). Obesity among youth has emotional, social and physical consequences and is associated with early onset of chronic diseases such as arthritis, asthma, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease (Gerberding, 2008). 61% of obese children aged 5-10 years old have one or more risk factors for heart disease and 27% have two or more risk factors for heart disease (Gerberding, 2008). Of U.S youth aged 12-18, only 39.1% meet the total grain recommendation and only 3.4% meet the recommendations for whole grain intake (Gerberding, 2008). 2007, only 21.4% of high school students reported eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables (when fried potatoes and potato chips are excluded) per day during the past seven days. Only 14.1% drank three or more glasses per day of milk (Gerberding, 2008). 78% of students ate fruits and vegetables less than five times per day (The obesity epidemic, 2007). 31% of students drink a can, bottle, or glass of soda or pop (not including diet soda or diet pop) at least one time per day (The obesity epidemic, 2007). 62% of students do not meet recommended levels of physical activity (The obesity epidemic, 2007). 62% of students do not attend physical education classes (The obesity epidemic, 2007). 77% of students do not attend physical education classes daily (The obesity epidemic, 2007). 40% of students watch television 3 or more hours per day on an average school day (The obesity epidemic, 2007). 28% of students play video or computer games or use a computer for something that was not school work for 3 or more hours per day on an average school day (The obesity epidemic, 2007). Children, especially girls, become less active as they move through adolescence (Overweight in Children, 2007).