What’s the real cost of overweight and obesity?
So…if I am reading your responses correctly, it would seem you too are big fans of numbers. With that being said, I thought we might address some financial numbers.
With the dramatic rise in overweight and obese individuals in the America, it’s hard not to look at the impact from all angles, including financially. In a recently published article by the Weight Control Information Network, the cost of overweight and obesity in the United States is 117 billion dollars. Yes 117 BILLION. That’s 61 billion for direct costs and 56 billion in indirect costs. Direct health care costs refer to preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services such as physician visits, medications, and hospital and nursing home care. This number also does not include diet aids, which adds an additional 50 billion dollars. Indirect costs are the value of wages lost by people unable to work because of illness or disability, as well as the value of future earnings lost by premature death.
The interesting part to me, once I can get past the dollar signs, is that in a direct correlation, only 26% of all Americans engage in vigorous leisure time activities 3 or more times a week. 59% report no vigorous activity at all in their leisure time. Additionally, 25% of kids from 12-21(and yes a 21 year old is now classified as a kid to me at this stage in lifeJ) also report no vigorous activity during their leisure time. Lastly, and perhaps the worst number is 14% of kids in the same age group, report no vigorous or lightweight activity at all.
Now, I am no rocket scientist by any measure, but if as a society we focused on the preventative benefits of proper exercise and nutrition and not the reactive of what happens after the fact, we would be ahead of the game. The cause for a family foundation for good health has never been more obvious. Not only for our own personal lives but for that of society as a whole.
So, the weather is warmer and there are far less excuses to get out, get up and move! Get the whole family involved in activities. Let your kids choose games they might like to play as silly as they may seem. Play tag, Flag football, a simple game of catch, jump rope, a random obstacle course, or a walk/jog. Remember, the goal, a ½ hour a day of vigorous activity. That means break a stride, not stroll. If the activity is not “vigorous” per se, then the goal would be 1 hour of moderate activity.
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