Subscribe to the RSS feed.New research shows 34% of the recent increase in Oregon’s health expenses is related to obesity.
By: CHP | Posted on: April 9th, 2009. |
Categories: Economic Issues • Nutrition • Public Health • Did You Know?
The percent of Oregonians who are obese doubled from 1990-2005; during roughly the same period, health care spending in our state rose 8% per year. Obesity is a health problem, most of us are aware of that. But it’s also an economic problem, and many of us are not aware of that aspect. However, a study commissioned by the Northwest Health Foundation shows that obesity costs Oregon at least $781 million per year in direct medical expenses, and over $1 billion including indirect costs such as lost productivity and health problems that occur along with obesity, such as diabetes. These data reinforce the idea that individual health problems must be addressed with a systems approach that takes into account all the reasons for health problems, and all the ways that they impact our society.
“This reminds us that the most powerful determinants of our health relate to our behaviors, not to medical care,” said Thomas Aschenbrener, Northwest Health Foundation president. “Behaviors such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of physical activity are making us sick, and we must focus on the environments that influence these behaviors,” he said.
It’s not enough to tell people they must exercise more and eat less. If that were the case, well-informed folks like physicians, nurses, and public health professionals would not have the same health problems, including obesity, as the general population. Unfortunately, obesity affects more than half our population: only 40% of Oregonians had a healthy weight in 2005. It seems clear that our environment as well as our individual behavior causes us to be unwell. Only by addressing both levels, personal and environmental, will we be able to start to reduce the chronic, costly burden of disease.
You can read the study here (pdf).
What do you think about the costs related to obesity? More importantly, do you have ideas about ways to improve health and reduce those costs? Start a conversation in the comments section, below.
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