Worrying numbers from a government conference in Washington DC this week:

Obese Americans — those who are 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double what it was a decade ago, a new study shows.

Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight.

Read USA Today Article…

The Center for Disease Control and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are sharing  alarming findings with elected and appointed public policy makers as well as federal, state and local public health leaders in a 3 day conference dedicated to obesity prevention.

What you need to know:

The percentage of obese adults in the US grew from 15% in 1980 to 34% in 2006 (more than double).

About 34% of adults — more than 72 million — in the USA were obese in 2006, up from 23% in 1994, according to government data. Two-thirds of people in this county are overweight or obese. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, several types of cancer and other diseases.

Clearly, something is broken with the system that feeds us.

What does this have to do with President Obama’s health care reform, all over the news these days?

The reform is an important overhaul no doubt. With  costs soaring, and health care becoming a luxury instead of a basic right for many Americans, there are many corrections required.

One of the ways to improve health care is through prevention. For example, preventing obesity.

This means stepping up to the collective plate and taking some radical steps:

For one, aligning the price of junk food with its real cost. Not the cost at the cash register, but the cost 20 years down the line at the hospital. (If you are thinking Soda Tax, this is just one option. Another is eliminating silly subsidies for corn that have flooded the market with high fructose corn syrup, and extra fat livestock).

Another measure is substantially restricting junk food advertising to children.

Lastly, the government can mandate clear, easy to understand food labels. Today’s labels are confusing. They allow manufacturers to obfuscate the true nutritional quality of a processed food item through flimsy health claims and marketing hype.

What to do at the supermarket:

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the government to help you. While you can certainly have your voice heard by writing to your state and federal representatives, a much more effective tool is to vote with your pocketbook.

Vote at the supermarket by choosing unprocessed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy and meat, and whole grains.

Vote by limiting your spending on junk foods.

Vote by cutting your spending on soft drinks to zero.

You’ll not only improve your health almost immediately, you’ll save yourself $1400 per year in health care costs down the road.

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Obesity rates increased in half the US states in the past year. They did not decrease in any state. This despite the growing awareness of the public, healthcare professionals, and government officials.

In an annual report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, aptly titled F as in Fat,  a horrific picture of a country eating itself to death emerges.

In 31 states, obesity rates exceed 25 percent. Childhood obesity is at an alltime high. In 30 states, more than 30% of children are either overweight or obese.

What you need to know:

The report goes on to describe the various measures being carried out by federal and state bodies, such as school lunch nutrition standards, weight screening, community activities to raise awareness, and more.

But can all these efforts put even a small dent in the source of all our woes – TOO MUCH (BAD) FOOD IS IN THE SYSTEM!

At the end of the day, it all comes down to money. How can government’s puny budgets (counted in millions of dollars), match up to Billions of dollars in advertising by the major food corporations. How can people stay slim if everywhere they go, junky food is conveniently shoved in their face. At work, at the bookstore, at school, the gas station, the mall, the deli at the supermarket, the movies, the ballpark, the Starbucks counter at the supermarket, and even at the fitness center. Not to mention fast food establishments conveniently located at every corner.

Big food will claim that it’s a matter of personal responsibility, but do individuals really have as much power as we think we do? Our whole way of life revolves around convenience, time saving inventions (TV Dinners, anyone?), and companies making more dollars for their investors. Even if it kills us along the way.

We need to take a long, deep look at how the system got to be broken and make some real changes, before it gets too late. The current measures, as well as proposals presented at the end of the report are comparable to using a flyswatter to stop an oncoming buffalo herd.

Right now, its still every consumer for themselves against the might of a well oiled industry.

What to do at the supermarket:

The choices you make in the supermarket ultimately effect your health, your family’s health, and the results of next year’s survey.

Choose foods that are less processed.  Fruits and vegetables, fresh and frozen. Whole grains. Less sugary snacks. Lean meat and milk products. More fruits and vegetables. Cut down drastically on soft drink purchases (switching to tap water will save a family of four $500 a year). Did we mention vegetables and fruits?

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