Obesity may push U.S. health costs above Europe: study

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly twice as many U.S. adults are obese compared to European, a key factor leading Americans to suffer more often from cancer, diabetes and other chronic ailments, a study released on Tuesday found.

Treatment of these and other chronic diseases adds between $100 billion and $150 billion to the annual health care tab in the United States, according to the report comparing U.S. and European health published online in the journal Health Affairs.

The United States spends significantly more per capita than any European country on health care, about $2 trillion annually, or 16 percent of the gross domestic product. While the big discrepancy has been linked to higher U.S. prices for medical treatment, the report said a sicker population may also be a factor.

"We expected to see differences between disease prevalence in the United States and Europe, but the extent of the differences is surprising," said Ken Thorpe, professor of public health at Emory University and a study co-author. "It is possible that we spend more on health care because we are, indeed, less healthy."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0131635120071002

[Warpy]

1. US health costs are already higher

because we're supporting that legion of paper pushers whose job it is to deny our claims when we get sick.

[lovuian]

3. agreed I can't believe how the weight measurements

they told relative who is skinny that he was overweight

its ridiculous

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. It is no doubt one of the largest reasons

This is just one of the smoke screens they're going to be tossing out to obscure that fact.

I'm not saying that our diets don't contribute to our health. I know they do.

In the UK nearly 25% of the population are considered clinically obese. compare that to the US at around 30%. See how health between the two countries vary and then figure out the difference in cost of health care.

That would be more accurate.

[Warpy]

9. Oh, please, smoking's a lot more dangerous than obesity

Compare THOSE rates.

By the way, they're seeing a pattern of obesity in western Europe that is the same pattern as that in the US, that of spreading out from a single locus, the classic pattern of an infectious epidemic.

Something is at work besides high fructose corn syrup and inferior morals.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. I wasn't clear

But I was agree with you that the paper pushers were one of the largest reasons for our increase in health cost.

My other point was the UK doesn't have the same insane high costs we do and they are similar to us in obesity rates. Which blows their obesity theory right out of the water.

In other words, the study was biased bullshit, but it's what we can be expecting them to try and pass off as the reason for our high medical cost.

[Warpy]

11. Thanks for the clarification

I should have known you were more sensible. I plead near blindness.

[High Plains]

2. Let's have punitive taxes on fatty foods!

Let's ban indoor cake eating!

Why do we treat the costs of smoking differently from other life-style decisions?

[physioex]

4. It's not just cake.....

I listened closely to what Sanjay Gupta said on CNN and completely agree. The problem is that the US government is subsidising corn and soy beans. Corn is used to make corn syrup and soy is used to make trans-fat. Have you looked into how much calories is in a tablespoon of corn syrup? It's shocking!! Fruits and and vegetables get no subsidies. It actually costs more money to eat healthy than it does unhealthy. So government policy does influence obesity.

[NashVegas]

6. Diet Is Only Half of It - IF That

The American lifestyle is the larger burden.

Instead of living near work and walking or biking - or even walking 2-5 blocks to catch a bus - we ride in our cars. And then we go to the gym and work-out alone together instead of playing outdoor games or getting involved in projects with our friends and family.

[killbotfactory]

7. Stop feeding us so much corn syrup.

It's in everything. We've let the quality of our food decline so much that nearly everything we are being fed is processed to hell, filled with all sorts of artificial flavors and preservatives, and tastes so bad that it has to be injected with shitloads fat and corn syrup to make it edible. Our kids are eating nothing but this crap at most schools.

And after shopping at a farmers market, the quality of our produce is piss poor as well. Everything is done for the benefit of the middle-man, not for quality or freshness.

[physioex]

8. Seriously....

I made the decision two years ago and threw out everything in the house with trans-fat and corn syrup. I have allowed one indulgence (ice cream) but everything else is gone. Corn syrup is fructose a more complex sugar that the body simply turns into fat.