From: Andy Soos, ENN.com
Obesity is a medical
condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may
have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or
increased health problems. Obviously there are costs associated with obesity
usually long term health costs.
A recent Canadian study
confirms that physical inactivity is a major contributor to chronic disease and
health care spending in Canada .
Specifically, 15% to 39% of the 7 chronic diseases examined were attributable
to physical inactivity.
The 2009 estimates indicate
that the total annual economic burden of physical inactivity in Canadian adults
was $6.8 billion, which represented 3.8% of the overall health care costs.
Dieting and physical
exercise are the mainstays of treatment for obesity. Diet quality can be
improved by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods such as those high
in fat and sugars, and by increasing the intake of dietary fiber.
Anti-obesity drugs may be
taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption together with a suitable
diet. If diet, exercise and medication are not effective, a gastric balloon may
assist with weight loss, or surgery may be performed to reduce stomach volume
and/or bowel length, leading to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb
nutrients from food.
A 2006 review identified
ten other possible obesity contributors in addition to lack of exercise and too
much food intake:
(1) insufficient sleep,
(2) endocrine disruptors
(environmental pollutants that interfere with lipid metabolism),
(3) decreased variability
in ambient temperature,
(4) decreased rates of
smoking, because smoking suppresses appetite,
(5) increased use of
medications that can cause weight gain (e.g., atypical antipsychotics),
(6) proportional increases
in ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier,
(7) pregnancy at a later
age,
(8) epigenetic risk factors
passed on generationally,
(9) natural selection for
higher Body Mass Index, and
(10) assortative mating.
While there is substantial
evidence supporting the influence of these mechanisms on the increased
prevalence of obesity, the evidence is still inconclusive.
In addition to Canada , population-level data on the economic
burden of physical inactivity have been presented for Australia (7% of total health burden) (Begg et
al. 2007), Switzerland (1.8%
of total direct costs) (Martina et al. 2001), the United
Kingdom (1.5% of total direct costs) (Allender et al.
2007), and the United States
(2.4% of total direct costs) (Colditz 1999).
The proportional physical
inactivity costs estimates for Canada
presented in the current study (3.7% of overall and direct costs) fall within
the range of values found in these countries.
The discrepancies across
countries can be explained by several factors, such as differences in the
prevalence of physical inactivity, differences in the health care systems
(e.g., public vs. private health care), and different methodological approaches
for estimating economic costs.