The Hill News

There are key provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) that specially seek to reverse America’s obesity epidemic. They are not partisan issues, but rather, fundamental economic and health issues. As America faces $168 billion in annual medical cost associated with obesity, and for the first time in our nation’s history, our children may live a shorter lifespan than their parents, now is the time to aggressively confront this epidemic from both sides of the aisle. With two thirds of adults and nearly one in three children overweight or obese, now is the time to support provisions that would help reverse this growing epidemic.  

The fact is that obesity is one of America’s costliest diseases. Nearly one of every five dollars spent on healthcare in the United States will be attributable to obesity and obesity-related conditions within the next decade. Indeed, Medicare is projected to payout nearly $75 billion for diabet! es care alone by 2019. Additionally, medical expenses for obese employees are 42 percent higher than for a person with a healthy weight, and loss of productivity due to obesity among full-time workers in the United States ads up to another $73.1 billion per year â€" numbers that should be difficult to ignore as Congress emphasizes strengthening U.S. businesses and growing jobs. 

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