Obesity Vs Tobacco Essay
part from tobacco, there is perhaps no greater harm to the collective health in the U.S. than obesity. Worldwide, too, obesity’s health effects are deep and vast—and they have a real and lasting impact on communities, on nations, and most importantly, on individuals, today and across future generations
In the U.S., among adults under the age of 70, obesity is second only to tobacco in the number of deaths it causes each year. (1) As tobacco use continues to decline, and obesity rates continue to rise, the number of deaths due to obesity may soon exceed that of tobacco.
Like tobacco, obesity causes or is closely linked with a large number of health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, gallstones, kidney stones, infertility, and as many as 11 types of cancers, including leukemia, breast, and colon cancer. No less real are the social and …show more content…
The health care costs of obesity in the U.S. were estimated to be as high as $190 billion in 2005, (2) a number that is double earlier estimates, and that is expected to rise, along with obesity rates, over the coming decades. This includes money spent directly on medical care and prescription drugs related to obesity. But obesity has other costs associated with it, too, among them, the cost of lost days of work, higher employer insurance premiums, and lower wages and incomes linked to obesity-related illnesses. Countries with lower obesity rates than the U.S. spend a smaller share of their healthcare dollars on obesity, but the burden is still sizable. Perhaps one of the most surprising consequences of the current obesity epidemic in the U.S. is its impact on recruitment for the armed services, with data showing that close to 30 percent of young people in the U.S. are now too heavy to qualify for military service.
In the U.S., among adults under the age of 70, obesity is second only to tobacco in the number of deaths it causes each year. (1) As tobacco use continues to decline, and obesity rates continue to rise, the number of deaths due to obesity may soon exceed that of tobacco.
Like tobacco, obesity causes or is closely linked with a large number of health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, gallstones, kidney stones, infertility, and as many as 11 types of cancers, including leukemia, breast, and colon cancer. No less real are the social and …show more content…
The health care costs of obesity in the U.S. were estimated to be as high as $190 billion in 2005, (2) a number that is double earlier estimates, and that is expected to rise, along with obesity rates, over the coming decades. This includes money spent directly on medical care and prescription drugs related to obesity. But obesity has other costs associated with it, too, among them, the cost of lost days of work, higher employer insurance premiums, and lower wages and incomes linked to obesity-related illnesses. Countries with lower obesity rates than the U.S. spend a smaller share of their healthcare dollars on obesity, but the burden is still sizable. Perhaps one of the most surprising consequences of the current obesity epidemic in the U.S. is its impact on recruitment for the armed services, with data showing that close to 30 percent of young people in the U.S. are now too heavy to qualify for military service.