Horowitz: Obesity is a Big-Time Societal Expense

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Rob Horowitz, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

Rob Horowitz

If Americans who are obese in youth stay obese over the course of their lifetimes, the total price tag before it is all said and done could exceed $1.1 trillion. These findings--part of a new study conducted by the Center on Social and Economic Dynamics at Brookings Institution, in partnership with the World Food Center at the University of California-Davis—estimate the average lifetime cost of obesity in one individual as about $92,000 and the number of youths who are currently obese at 12.7 million.

Among the top societal costs of obesity, according to the Study, are reduced workplace productivity and increased disability claims. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found in a previous report that it is a major cause of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, hypertension, arthritis and cancer, among other maladies. “More than 75 percent of hypertension cases can be attributed to obesity. And approximately one-third of cancer deaths are linked to obesity or lack of physical activity,”

The average American is 24 pounds heavier today than in 1960 and one-in-three American adults are now obese. Over-all, obesity rates for children are also increasing.

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But cities and states who were early adopters of a comprehensive approach to obesity prevention in young low-income children are seeing declines.

The comprehensive approach is basic common sense: encouraging and providing opportunities for more exercise and hammering home the importance of healthy foods as well as ensuring that all school meals are healthy:

More specifically, it includes involving all community stakeholders, ensuring safe routes to school so children can walk and bike as well as making communities over-all more pedestrian and bike friendly, requiring physical education in school, increasing after-school recreation programs, continually stressing healthy eating with parents and children, and facilitating easier access to healthier foods.

Recent academic work reinforces the importance of learning healthy food habits in the early years both at home and at school, as” unhealthy habits and preferences can be difficult to unlearn”.

More broadly employing a comprehensive approach to obesity prevention—one that has achieved demonstrable results-- will not only improve the quality of individual lives; it will be a major cost-saver. Let’s start today.

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island