OTHER OPINIONS : The high cost of fat

By The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)

Posted: August 13, 2009 at 5:17 a.m.

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LITTLE ROCK — Just as the national debate over health-care reform enters a critical stage, along comes a national study pointing out that obesity adds $147 billion every year to the cost of health care in this country. :

Americans consume an average of 250 more calories per day than they did two decades ago. That's 26 extra pounds to burn off every year just to stay even. And medical costs associated with the resulting obesity have nearly doubled in less than a decade. :

The extra weight Americans are packing leads to numerous and often avoidable health problems: heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high bloodpressure, heart failure, kidney problems and arthritis. As Congress debates health-care reform, the question becomes: Who will foot the bill? :

While the debate over health-care reform has focused mainly on the cost and how to pay for it, what's been missing is any real discussion of the preventive component - how to avoid weight-related maladies in the first place. :

Choosing a healthier lifestyle is the best way to hold down medical bills for everyone. Failure to heed that message may turn out to be the deciding factor in whether health-care reform succeeds this time. : - The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)

Opinion, Pages 6 on 08/13/2009

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