Calling Attention to The Weight of the Nation

The news about obesity continues to get worse. Just last week it was reported that by the year 2030 the rate of obesity among American adults will reach 42%, up from the current 36%, and the economic cost of obesity has reached a staggering $190 billion per year, up from the previous estimate of $143 billon. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans describes obesity as the “greatest single treat to public health in this century.” As gloomy as those statistics are, there is reason for hope.

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is unveiling their plan to combat obesity and it’s tremendous economic and personal costs. To kick off what I hope will be an intensive, aggressive and long term public health campaign to win the war against obesity, a four part documentary series will be aired starting this coming Monday called The Weight of the Nation. Parts 1 and 2 are to be aired Monday, May 14^th at 8:00 pm EST, and parts 3 and 4 will air Tuesday, May 15^th at 8:00 pm. The series will address the consequences of obesity, the challenges facing us in overcoming it—and strategies on how to lose weight, maintain weight loss and prevent weight gain. The documentary is a presentation of HBO and the Institute of Medicine (IOM), in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in partnership with the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente. With the film making expertise of HBO and the credibility and expertise of the CDC, NIH, and IOM, I am looking forward to an interesting and informative series.

Click here to view The Weight of the Nation trailer.

Should The State Step In If Your Child Is Severely Obese?

Dr. David Ludwig, Harvard Pediatrics professor, proclaimed in a JAMA article  this week that children with life-threatening obesity might be best served by some type of state intervention. Ludwig is suggesting this radical involvement for children with BMI in the 99th percentile. He believes that initially child protective services should offer "intermediate options such as in-home social support, parenting training, counseling, and financial assistance, that may address underlying problems.” But ultimately if the child’s health does not improve the state would force the child into foster care. Ludwig told the Associated Press that he started thinking about the idea of state intervention nearly a decade ago, after a 3-year-old girl showed up at his obesity clinic weighing 90 lbs. By last year, at age 12, she had reached 400 lbs. and had developed diabetes, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

Her parents had physical disabilities, little money and difficulty controlling her weight. "Out of medical concern, the state placed this girl in foster care, where she simply received three balanced meals a day and a snack or two and moderate physical activity," [Ludwig] said. After a year, she lost 130 pounds. Though she is still obese, her diabetes and apnea disappeared; she remains in foster care, he said.
An even less ethical solution is exhibited by the recent spike in children undergoing weight loss surgeries which carries physical risks and can be irreversible. Ludwig argues that “at first glance, bariatric surgery might seem an obvious solution, but the procedures don't have a lengthy safety record in teens, and they're not recommended for children.”

“Given that situations involving the undernourishment of children have frequently been defined as child abuse or neglect and warranted state intervention, it may be likely that overnourishment may be addressed similarly,” Ludwig argues.

We Can Win the War on Obesity

I’m a pretty optimistic guy, but sometimes you just have to face the facts, we are losing the war on obesity in the country. Make no mistake, it is a war.

 

According to Centers for Disease Control, obesity is responsible for over 100,000 deaths per year.  While we are all generally aware of its consequences the chart below graphically demonstrates that obesity affects every part of the body.

 



 

Obesity continues to climb. There were 2.4 million more obese people in 2009 than 2007. We now have 72 million obese adults in the U.S.  Health care costs from obesity almost doubled from 80 billion to 143 billion in the past decade, with no end in sight.  Childhood obesity rate have tripled in the last 30 years, putting those kids at increased risk for many of the same diseases as adults.

 

 

The fact that we are losing the war now does not mean we can’t ultimately win - in fact we must. While there are no easy solutions to this crisis, the CDC is working hard to get the word out about obesity, its consequences, and strategies for managing it.  Many of their recommendations will be familiar to you, but it can’t hurt to review them again; maybe you’ll pick up something new or be inspired by something you read, see or hear.

 

There is a wealth of printed information as well as podcasts and videos. The site is big and somewhat overwhelming so here is an article  and a video to get started with.