obesity | GWOP MAGAZINE

The association voted on the measure at its annual meeting in Chicago. The AMA noted that obesity rates in the United States have “doubled among adults in the last twenty years and tripled among children in a single generation” and that the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Internal Revenue Service already recognize the condition as a disease.

Obesity is associated with a variety of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Rising obesity is expected to increase America’s already high health care costs.

The AMA’s recommendations accompanying the vote included urging physicians and insurance companies to “recognize obesity as a complex disorder,” encouraging national efforts to educate the public “about the health risks of being overweight and obese.”

The AMA also recommended the creation “National Obesity Awareness Month” to highlight the benefits of exercise and to warn of the risks of obesity. Source

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United Health Foundation has released their annual report on America’s Health.

The most startling fact in the report was that in the last decade the annual improvement in America’s health has declined 69% compared to the 1990s.
In a mere two decades, obesity has risen 15+ points (from 11.6% to 27.5%) in the adult population and could approach 40+ percent by the end of the decade if the trend continues.
Both obesity and diabetes (type 2) are preventable and treatable through lifestyle changes. Five factors are key to avoid becoming a statistic: keep your weight within a normal range (with BMI of 25 or less); eat a healthy diet; refrain from (or quit) smoking; alcohol in moderation; and partake in regular physical exercise (determined to be at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three or more times per week).