Obesity and Healthcare
Obesity and Health Care
Obesity and health care are two of the most widely talked about health issues today. Obesity is prevalent in our society and leads to numerous health issues including: coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, liver disease, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, gynecological problems and many more. It isn’t surprising then that obesity is responsible for a significant portion of health care costs. The U.S. Congress is currently considering a healthcare overhaul and several states are taking harsh anti-obesity measures. Obesity and its affect on health care will be a hot topic of discussion for some time to come.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every three American adults is obese. This number is appallingly high to most people as we do not always equate being overweight with being obese. Overweight is defined as having a Body Mass Index of 25 or higher and obesity is having a BMI of 30 or higher. The prevalence of processed food and drinks in American diets combined with sedentary lifestyles has resulted in the rank as the number one obese country in the world. It isn’t surprising then, that we have a high cost associated with weight related health problems.
Right now our federal government is trying to pass a bill to reform health care that will cost over 900 billion dollars and will put more strain on U.S. taxpayers. If passed, this bill will spread the cost of health care across everyone who pays taxes. This makes obesity more of a problem for everyone. Several states, including New York and California, have already begun levying taxes on fattening foods and drinks to discourage unhealthy eating and to bolster failing budgets. These kinds of government actions on obesity and healthcare will undoubtedly increase as we continue to trend towards a more socialistic government, so it is important for all Americans to keep themselves informed on the costs of obesity in terms of health and dollars. America’s obesity problem affects us all.
Discussion
What are some possible remedies to the obesity problem that you expect to see addressed by the federal government in the next five years?
Do you think that the unhealthy choices of others should be paid for with your tax dollars?
Do you think that the government has a responsibility to address the issue of obesity or do you think that responsibility lies with the individual?
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Comments
obesity is a huge problem in our society. with all the high fructose corn syrup in our diets i think this is the major cause of obesity. this article is very important and people really need to watch what they eat, especially young kids so they dont develop health problems at a young age
I do not think obesity should be government regulated. However, as a society we do spend a lot of money on healthcare costs related to obesity. I just think it should be the individual's responsibility to take care of themselves even though that does not happen often enough. much of it is due to poor education and the abundance of cheap fatty food that people seem to almost get addicted to.
The government can't legally do 90% of the things they have been doing for decades, but the reality is that our politicians use the constitution for toilet paper! There is even talk of the house passing the healthcare bill and it's amendments as two separate bills WITHOUT EVEN VOTING ON THEM! That is undeniably unconstitutional. It won't be long before we have no choice in anything, even our own health! This is why it's important to write to your elected officials and tell them what you think.
The government has a long history of "regulating" what we do and what we can do...and who can do it..so it is really not a question of should they..of course i believe they shouldn't...but they will cause thatis what they do and do not believe for one moment that they won't proffit from what ever the bill is passed through taxation..This has nothing to do with a socialistic government.The government has been passing laws without our knowledge for years..An Interesting example is "the harrison Act"..look it up...And Jesse...we haven't really had a choice in awhile...