Critical information was announced on the first day of the Weight of the Nation conference given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 42% of Americans could become obese by 2030 and 11%, considered SEVERELY obese. Obesity is classified as being roughly 30 pounds over a healthy weight, where as severe obesity is roughly 100 pounds over. Eric Finkelstein, a health economist with Duke University Global Health Institute states, “The obesity problem is likely to get much worse without a major public health intervention”.
Extra weight increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, many types of cancer, sleep apnea and other chronic illnesses. The CDC estimated that medical related costs of obesity may be as high as $147 billion a year. An obese person costs about $1, 400 more in annual medical expenditures than someone who maintains a healthy weight. Preventing a rise in obesity rates over the next 20 years could save the country nearly $550 billion in medical costs during that timeframe. To read more, click here: http://rti.org/news.cfm?objectid=27AAE8B0-5056-B100-31BFBF89933EC3D3.
re:TH!NK volunteer bloggerKim Hageman
