Study Suggests 86 Percent Of Americans Could Be Overweight Or Obese By 2030 Schools & Kids, posted by sue, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Jul 29, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Most adults in the U.S. will be overweight or obese by 2030, with related health care spending projected to be as much as $956.9 billion, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Web Link
More than 86 percent of adults will be overweight or obese by 2030 with approximately 96 percent of non-Hispanic black women and 91 percent of Mexican-American men affected.
This would result in 1 of every 6 health care dollars spent in total direct health care costs paying for overweight and obesity-related costs.”
Researchers estimate that children and young adults may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents if the obesity epidemic is left unaddressed.
Posted by Solutions, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jul 29, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Educate children and adults about nutrition.
Create powerful financial and social disincentives for junk food creation (Publicly humiliate the CEO's of companies like Kraft, as one example; increased taxes on junk food (like cigarettes - make junk food REALLY expensive via taxation, as another example)
Create powerful incentives for healthy food creation
Compel all school systems (private and public) to remove the swill that most of them feed to our kids
Interventions by physicians, school nurses, teachers, athletic coaches, etc.. There is no reason that a child should be poisoned by his/her parents, out of ignorance)
Posted by fat smoker, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Jul 29, 2008 at 4:32 pm
This is terrible state of affairs
"Researchers estimate that children and young adults may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents if the obesity epidemic is left unaddressed."
I guess they were right who said " you can never be too rich or too thin"
It is time to hold overweight people accountable for their behaviour and the costs they impose on the rest of us.
Posted by Parent, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 29, 2008 at 4:32 pm
How about regulation of portions at restaurants? Some portions are big enough for three meals let alone take home leftovers for the next days lunch. Even a salad is usually big enough for two to share.
Subway has done great unjustice with its $5 footlongs, because it is so economical to buy twice as much food for about an extra $1 and then eat it all instead of sharing or saving for later.
Pizzeria Uno's Individual Chicago Classic (serves one) has 2,310.
Who could eat another bite after an appetizer like T.G.I. Friday's Jack Daniel's Sampler at 2,330?
Bear in mind that to maintain their present weight, most men should consume from 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day; most women from 1,500 to 1,800, depending on activity level and size.
My experience is that portions are much smaller in Europe
Posted by Parent, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 31, 2008 at 11:16 am
You people are idiots. Fatness isn't a crime any more than driving an SUV is a crime, than letting your kids ride skateboards (or even having kids for that matter), than failing to use sunscreen, than putting your kids in too many sports, than drinking wine, beer or margaritas, than a million other unhealthy things that aren't any of your business. Being fat is no beeswax of anyone elses than the person who's fat. And who says they don't pay their own way? In fact, fatness is creating economic growth - they buy more food, they eat out more, they buy more clothes (because they cycle through sizes up and down more often), they keep the diet industry (and the fitness industry) in business. And yes, they do pay more for insurance. They may or may not need more healthcare services - I know some very thin people who have big cholesterol issues, thyroid issues, who are clumsy, lazy and stupid (cause accidents, hurt themselves, are sickly, etc.) - and I know fat people who have perfectly healthy lifestyles, no high blood pressure, cholesterol or any other healthy issues and never miss a day of work.
the article says fatness will create a $956Billion in health care related spending. That's 956Billion in spending created for our economy. Thats creation of a lot of jobs.
Luckily underweight people are apparently going to shortly be in the minority and perhaps then we can outlaw jerks and losers who think their 'stuff' doesn't stink.
Speaking of short, maybe we should start charging short near sited people for the burden they cause to society. Perhaps we should charge mentally ill people for the burden they create, perhaps we should charge people who have more than one kid for the burden they cause, etc etc etc. Get a life and worry about your own problems.
Posted by bike, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Jul 31, 2008 at 2:29 pm
It appears that fat ratios are most important for heart disease
# Men in the top one-fifth of the distribution (those with the biggest waists in relation to their hips) had a 55 percent higher risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to men in the bottom one-fifth of the distribution (those with the smallest waists in relation to their hips).
# Women in the top one-fifth, or the highest waist-to-hip ratio group, were 91 percent more likely to develop heart disease than women with the smallest waists in relation to their hips.
Posted by The Russian, a resident of another community, on Jul 31, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Isn't the savior of the planet wearing a fat apron?
How about Al Gore-eo cash in his carbon credits on a treadmill hooked to a generator and start making some electrons and thinning out his lard reserves?
Posted by Walter E. Wallis, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jul 31, 2008 at 5:39 pm
When people start gaining weight at the same rate government has been, then I worry. The department of obesity control will likely, in 10 years, be larger than the War Department entering WWII.
Posted by bike, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Aug 1, 2008 at 10:38 am
Al Gore is truly obese and does not seem to be concerned, i guess he is thinking globally and not acting locally neither in his massive appetite for food nor energy for his house and glob trotting by plane.
He is not a good role model for our children.
There is a darwinian solution to unhealthy living, we do not need more government programs, just hold people accountable financially for their habits.
In the old days we used to call it sloth and gluttony, 2 of the 7 deadly sins.
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