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Public health takes on obesity: A route to better health
Public health takes on obesity: A route to better health
Posted on Jan 22, 2014 by Maggie LaBarbera
Obesity has nearly tripled among kids and teens over the past 30 years.
One in three U.S. kids ages 2–19 is overweight or obese.
In 1980, the obesity rate for adults was 15%. Today, that rate has more-than doubled to 35%.
112,000 = The number of obesity-related deaths each year
Children who are obese are more than twice as likely to die before age 55 as children with a healthy weight.
Direct costs = $152 billion spent on medical care per year
Indirect costs = value of lost productivity + insurance premium and compensation + absence from work = $73 billion
For the first time in recent years, obesity rates have declined
Public health funding, including the prevention fund, will be on the chopping block year after year if we don’t find a better solution to deficit reduction.
[To keep winning the fight against obesity, we must continue to fund public health programs.
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