Forbes article today:
Obesity Now Costs Americans More In HealthCare Spending Than Smoking
A few points from the article:
Quote {Reuters is reporting that obesity in America is now adding an astounding $190 billion to the annual national healthcare price tag, exceeding smoking as public health enemy number one when it comes to cost.
How serious is the problem? Obesity has risen a full 34% since 1960 while morbid obesity is up sixfold.
Making the cost impact all the more troubling is the fact that, unlike smokers, obese people tend to live almost as long as those who keep their weight under control. ”Smokers die early enough that they save Social Security, private pensions, and Medicare” trillions of dollars”, said Duke’s Eric Finkelstein. “But mortality isn’t that much higher among the obese.”
Unquote
Hmmm.. seems like all of us alive today are from the same gene pool that existed in the 1960's. JMHO.
Obesity Now Costs Americans More In HealthCare Spending Than Smoking - Forbes