The Hill News

Politicians are struggling with ballooning Medicare and Medicaid budgets, and a looming national health care plan that we cannot afford. This challenge will only get more difficult unless we address the big elephant in the room that no politician wants to publicly address: the cost of obesity. Addressing obesity with tough love talk about individual accountability is the kiss of reelection death (who wants to call their constituents fat?). And addressing the government programs and policies that stand in the way of a slimmer society are met with heated debate and powerful lobbying.

There are roughly 150 million adults in the U.S who are overweight or obese, a number that is projected to increase dramatically over the next decade. Statistics around childhood obesity are equally unsettling. The cost of obesity is staggering and is arguably a greater threat on America’s collective well-being than any terrorist or flu epidemic. In 2008, medical costs related to obesit! y were estimated at $147 billion â€" double what it was just ten years ago. If we continue to munch away carelessly, that figure will rise to $344 billion by 2018. What is even more disturbing is that these figures are significantly understated, as they do not include the millions of people who are overweight or mildly obese with preventable chronic diseases who would benefit from a healthier diet and greater activity. In the U.S. an estimated $1.8 trillion is spent per year in medical costs associated with chronic diseases.

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