Something has been missing from the debate...

Insuring Resources Commentary:


Please view this very informative podcast on the American obesity epidemic.


https://www.brainshark.com/brainshark/vu/view.asp?pi=801897475


So far on this blog I've barely touched on a key factor within the issue of improving health outcomes facing America's health care system. The epidemic of obesity. Better late than never I guess because this is a costly problem that we need to address and fix very soon. Here's some startling statistics:


Currently 64% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. What's an easy test? 80% of U.S. men with a waist size of 40 or above are obese.

Obesity is defined as: A person has traditionally been considered to be obese if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight. That ideal weight must take into account the person's height, age, sex, and build.

My ideal weight is between 160- 196lbs, that;s a huge range. So let's take the midpoint of 178 lbs. 20% more than that would be about 36 lbs or 214 lbs. At my heaviest when I was 34 I briefly weighed 217. I was most likely obese. Now I'm about 190-192.

34% of US adults are obese.

In the podcast Dr. Handel says that if we returned to 1987 obesity levels we could cover all our uninsured Americans in full right NOW.

What about children? 40% are either overweight or obese today. That means our future workforce is ENTERING employment with a chronic health condition that decreases their productivity and increases their health care costs.

What's the projection for 2030 if we don't get a handle on this?

In 2030 90% of Americans will be overweight or obese.


What's the Solution? Employer incentives within health care reform to introduce and or expand worksite wellness programs focusing on better nutrition, exercise and employee incentives. as Dr. Handel says in the podcast we also need to look at disincentives for not taking action meaning increased health insurance premiums for those who remain obese or for employers without wellness programs.