Obesity Costs In America

The number of overweight and obese baby boomers is fast rising and the United States health authorities are getting increasingly concerned that they are on their way to becoming obese and disabled senior citizens. This will mean that the already full old peoples homes will be further pushed to breaking point. The obesity epidemic that has taken hold in America is costing the nation billion of dollars every year not only in health care but also in the fact that obese people tend to become immobile at an earlier age and therefore are consigned to old people's homes at an earlier age.

The impact that the obese American citizens are having on obesity is huge with many more cases of type 2 diabetes, cardio disease, osteoarthritis, cancer and many more conditions that cost the state and lower the age at which people die. Research is increasingly showing that obesity boost the liklihood of getting disabled at a much younger age and makes normally mundane tasks like having a shower, dressing, driving and generally caring for yourself very difficult.

This has not been lost on The Obesity Society and also the American Society for Nutrition who both made a pronouncement that obese older adults must lose weight before they got to old otherwise they would lose their mobility and could be consigned to wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. Once you are in a wheelchair it becomes increasingly difficult to lose weight as exercise becomes very difficult.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention say that the number of obese Americans has hit a peak with more than 30% of the population suffering from obesity and the the American Health Care Association recently reported that there are 52,000 jobs to be filled for qualified nursing helpers in old peoples homes. More and more helpers are need to cope especially with the very obese patients who require many people to lift them.

Obesity is causing disabilities in younger people too who find that in relatively early age they start to suffer from worn joints especially in the knees from all the extra weight that they have been carrying over the years. These obese people often need joint replacements which are painful and costly. Ukmedix warns people that obesity is a dangerous thing to live with and while you may feel healthy there are many dangers around the corner.