Obesity

U.S. fails to improve on health, yet again

Dan Bowman — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:00:56 -0500

Apparently America is one unhealthy place to live. An annual ranking from the United Health Foundation found that the health of Americans did not improve for the fourth straight year. The main culprits for the country's overall decline in health are tobacco smoking, obesity and a rising uninsured rate, according to Reed Tuckson, a board member of the United Health Foundation. Furthermore, Tuckson believes that America's floundering economy could spell even more bad news.

Comparisons to other nations do not paint a pretty picture. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, revealed in a conference call that 27 other "industrialized nations" have a higher life expectancy than the U.S., while 38 other nations boast a lower infant mortality rate. Air pollution and geographic disparity are among the 22 different measures looked at by America's Health Rankings.

In state-by-state rankings, Vermont, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Utah were the five healthiest, respectively. Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana ranked Nos. 46 through 50 on the list.

For more:
- check out this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

Study to follow children through adulthood, track illnesses

Anne Zieger — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:02:53 -0400

Federal scientists are getting ready to recruit for what may be one of the most ambitious studies ever in the U.S. The study, which will cost $2.7 billion, plans to follow 100,000 pregnant woman and their children from before birth until the children turn 21. Researchers hope to find out why obesity, autism, and behavioral problems are on the rise, among other possible results. FierceBioResearcher

AL charges state employees fees for health problems

Anne Zieger — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:20:54 -0400

The Alabama State Employees' Insurance Board has announced that it will go forward with a plan requiring state employees who are obese or have other health problems to make progress on those issues or pay a monthly charge for health insurance. Employees will be required to undergo a health screening at no charge by January 2010 or pay a $25 monthly charge for their health insurance, which workers currently receive at no cost to them. If the screening finds blood pressure elevation, high cholesterol, high glucose, or obesity--defined as a BMI of 35 or above--employees will have one year to visit a physician at no cost, enroll in a wellness problem or take their own steps to improve their health. If follow-up screenings don't show progress, employees will begin to pay the monthly surcharge in January 2011. Plan administrators expect to spend an estimated $1.6 million next year for screening and wellness programs, but believe they'll see big savings over the long term, as individuals with a BMI of 35 to 39 cost $1,748 more in annual health costs than those with a BMI of less than 25.

To learn more about this plan:
- read this Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report item

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Obesity costs U.S. employers $45 billion a year
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Obesity costs US employers $45 billion a year

Abby Christopher — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:52:55 -0400

According to an article in the New York Times, research published by the Conference Board and RTI International found that obesity costs U.S. employers an estimated $45 billion annually, but few employers are tackling the problem head on. About 14 percent of chief executives cite obesity as a top healthcare benefits concern according to the same report. RTI adds that it may not be worth the investment to help their obese employees slim down. Most employees stay at a job four to five years on average depending on the industry. At the same time, higher turnover industries will not get any return on investment if they establish a weight loss program, according to RTI. In sharp contrast, we recently noted that Japan is measuring waistlines and helping employees lose weight. Although a growing number of U.S. companies have wellness programs, only some help with weight loss and obesity, according to the Conference Board.

Rand Corporation reports that obesity causes more chronic health problems than smoking and heavy drinking. While health costs can be a larger part of the problem, obese employees also are likely to miss more work, and are less mobile than their colleagues.

For more:
- check out the New York Times article

MI data suggests weight-loss surgery getting safer

Anne Zieger — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:37:37 -0400

At least in Michigan, it appears that bariatric surgery may be getting safer. This, at least, is the conclusion suggested by first year of data collected from a registry there, maintained by a collaborative funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The registry's data is based on 332 patients, which it began tracking in July 2006. A recent analysis of registry data found that deaths and serious complications are rare. The registry data also suggests that weight loss one year after surgery varies by which procedure the patient had, and that some surgeries work better than others at helping people stop taking diabetes and blood pressure medications.

The Lap-Band, the most common bariatric procedure, was the safest procedure tracked by the registry, but generated an average loss of only 57 pounds in the first year after the operation. Meanwhile, people achieved 102 pound losses on average per year after minimally-invasive gastric bypass surgery and 118 pounds after conventional gastric bypasses. However, minimally-invasive gastric bypass surgery had the highest rates of reoperations, extended hospital stays, deaths and other adverse events. Despite this increased safety risk, life-threatening events were only 0.5 percent for minimally-invasive gastric bypasses, significantly lower than rates of about 2 percent in 2000.

To learn more about the registry:
- read this Detroit Free Press article

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Study: Despite earlier deaths, obese pay higher medical bills

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:59:54 -0400

New research suggests that young adults in their 20s who are as little as 30 pounds overweight may pay lifetime medical bills that are $5,000 to $21,000 higher than their normal-weight. Meanwhile, extremely obese young adults (70 pounds or more overweight) will incur $15,000 to $29,000 more in lifetime medical expenses than healthy-weight peers, according to a study in the journal Obesity. These numbers take into account that heavy people have shorter life expectancies.

The data varied by ethnicity. According to the study, medical expenses are much greater in obese white women than obese black women, probably because white women tend to use more health services at every weight level. Correspondingly, white men's costs at 70 pounds overweight were slightly higher than black men's costs.

To learn more about the study:
- read this USA Today piece

Study: Hip, knee replacement surgery rates soaring

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Over the past seven years, implanting artificial knee and hip joints has become extremely common, and could become so popular that the system can't absorb the demand, researchers project. A recent study appearing in the journal Arthritis Care & Research concluded that primary hip replacements increased 48 percent between 1997 and 2004, from 153,080 procedures in 1997 to 225,900 in 2004. Meanwhile, first-time knee replacements grew 63 percent, from 264,331 in '97 to 431,485 in '04. At this rate, providers will perform an estimated 600,000 hip replacements and 1.4 million knee replacements in 2015. Experts who study the growth in such procedures say that the rise of obesity in the U.S. is the main reason for the uptick, but improvements in the procedure have made physicians more comfortable recommending such surgeries.

To learn more about the study:
- read this AMNews article

Related Article:
A growing number of knee- and hip-replacement surgeries are being done in India