My next novel MURDER: A NEW WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT is out later this month. So I’m discussing the
problem generated by obesity during the next two months with occasional interruptions for guest
blogs.
$$$$$ Money is an incentive to lose weight
A new
study (to be presented by researchers
from the Mayo Clinic at the American College of Cardiology on March 9, 2013) reports
a not very surprising finding.
Dieters, who receive financial rewards,
are more apt to follow their weight loss regime carefully and to lose more
weight than dieters not receiving monetary rewards.
Experts
have long postulated the success of dieters on commercial weight loss programs
reflects partially the greater
commitment of those dieters to weight loss because of their financial
investments.
$$$$$ Obesity costs money
We’ve all
heard many times that obese adults are more prone to heart disease, type 2
diabetes, and certain cancers. Now researchers suggest obesity-related health
costs in the US are more than $190 billion annually or almost 21% of health
care costs in the US (Journal of Health Economics 31 [Jan 2012]: 219-230).
Figures
such as these are so large – it’s hard to grasp their significance. The authors
Cawley and Meyenhoefer put it in personal terms.
Obesity raised medical costs by $2,417 per
person per year (in 2005 dollars).
The Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation puts a positive spin on these dire numbers (F as in Fat:
How Obesity Threatens America issued
in September 2012). If
overweight and obese adult Americans reduced their average BMI (body mass
index) by only 5 percent, the foundation estimates billions of dollars in
health spending would be saved — about 7% of total health expenditures.
What is a BMI?
Body mass
Index (BMI) is the most common measure of obesity. It is calculated:
(weight in pounds)
X 703
(height in inches) X (height in inches)
Adults
with a BMI of >30 are considered obese. Adults with an index of >25
but less than 29.9 are overweight.
I suspect
most readers won’t bother to do the calculations so let me give you examples.
You are obese (or overweight) if, you are:
5’ 2” and
weight more than 164 (136) pounds
5’ 5” and
weight more than 180 (150) pounds
5’ 8” and
weight more than 197 (164) pounds
6’ 1” and
weight more than 215 (179) pounds
$$$$$ Save yourself and your
country (Medicare and Medicaid) money and lose weight if you are obese or even
overweight. Next time we’ll talk more about
the health benefits of weight loss.
JL and Bug
Great information, Janet!
ReplyDeleteSome one asked (on a different blog) if I would talk about currents diets during the next month. Yes. She was convinced I'd have nothing new. I think she'll be surprised. IN MURDER: A NEW WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT the researchers are studying the effect of gut flora on weight control. Actually that is an active area of research now.
ReplyDeleteBilllie, thanks for the comment.