Clinical
Obesity
Fact
Sheet
-
What is
Clinical Obesity?
-
Obesity -
A Global Epidemic
-
Clinical
Obesity in the
U.S.
-
Obesity in Minority Populations
-
Women and Obesity
-
Obesity in Youth
-
Health
Effects of
Clinical Obesity
-
Obesity Treatment
-
Obesity Research
-
Obesity
and Health Insurance
-
Obesity, Medicaid and Medicare
-
Gastric
Bypass
Surgery
1.
What
is Clinical Obesity?
Obesity is a disease that
affects nearly one-third of the adult American
population (approximately 60 million). The
number of overweight and obese Americans has
continued to increase since 1960, a trend that
is not slowing down. Today, 64.5 percent of
adult Americans (about 127 million) are
categorized as being overweight or obese. Each
year, obesity causes at least 300,000 excess
deaths in the U.S., and healthcare costs of
American adults with obesity amount to
approximately $100 billion.
Obesity is the second leading cause of
unnecessary deaths.
-
Despite its toll taken in
death and disability, obesity does not
receive the attention it deserves from
government, the health care profession or
the insurance industry.
-
Research is severely
limited by a shortage of funds.
-
Inadequate insurance
coverage limits access to treatment.
-
Discrimination and
mistreatment of persons with obesity is
widespread and often considered socially
acceptable.
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2.
Obesity -
A Global Epidemic
The prevalence of overweight and
obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarming
rate in both developing and developed countries.
Environmental and behavioral changes brought
about by economic development, modernization,
and urbanization have been linked to the rise in
global obesity. Obesity is increasing in
children and adults, and true health
consequences may become fully apparent in the
near future.
Developed countries have high obesity rates,
food deprivation is unusual, and physical
activity levels have decreased greatly. Lower
income households are reported to feature diets
composed of foods that tend to be high in
calories and fat - contributors to overweight
and obesity - since vegetables, fruits and whole
grain cereals are more expensive.
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3.
Clinical
Obesity in the
U.S.
Obesity is a complex,
multi-factorial chronic disease involving
environmental (social and cultural), genetic,
physiologic, metabolic, behavioral and
psychological components. It is the second
leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
Overweight and obesity are part
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services' health agenda that have steadily moved
away from their established targets for
improvement. Today, public health leaders
recognize obesity as a "neglected public health
problem." This fact sheet will demonstrate the
impact of overweight and obesity on millions of
Americans of all ages and both genders.
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4.
Obesity in Minority Populations
Overweight and obesity in the
U.S. occur at higher rates in racial / ethnic
minority populations such as African American
and Hispanic Americans, compared with White
Americans. Asian-Americans have a relatively low
prevalence for obesity. Women and persons of low
socioeconomic status within minority populations
appear to particularly be affected by overweight
and obesity. Cultural factors that influence
dietary and exercise behaviors are reported to
play a major role in the development of excess
weight in minority groups.
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5.
Women and Obesity
Obesity plays a significant role
in causing poor health in women, negatively
affecting quality of life and shortening
quantity of life. More than half of adult U.S.
women are overweight, and more than one-third
are obese. The life expectancy of women in the
U.S. is approaching 80 years of age, and more
women than ever are expected to turn 65 in the
second decade of the new millennium. Prevention
and early treatment of obesity are crucial to
ensuring a healthy population of women of all
ages.
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6.
Obesity in Youth
Diabetes, hypertension and other obesity-related
chronic diseases that are prevalent among adults
have now become more common in youngsters. The
percentage of children and adolescents who are
overweight and obese is now higher than ever
before. Poor dietary habits and inactivity are
reported to contribute to the increase of
obesity in youth.
Today's youth are considered the most inactive
generation in history caused in part by
reductions in school physical education programs
and unavailable or unsafe community recreational
facilities. In the U.S., only the state of
Illinois requires daily physical education for
students in grades K to 12.
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7.
Health
Effects of
Clinical Obesity
Persons with obesity are at risk
of developing one or more serious medical
conditions, which can cause poor health and
premature death. Obesity is associated with
more than 30 medical conditions, and scientific
evidence has established a strong relationship
with at least 15 of those conditions.
Preliminary data also show the impact of obesity
on various other conditions. Weight loss of
about 10% of body weight, for persons with
overweight or obesity, can improve some
obesity-related medical conditions including
diabetes and hypertension.
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8.
Obesity Treatment
A statistic frequently used
about obesity treatment is that 95 percent of
people who lose weight gain it all back. That
statistic, based on a small study from 1959, is
no longer valid. Much has changed in the way of
obesity treatment since then. Thousands of
people have succeeded in losing weight and
keeping it off -- an encouraging fact for many
that are discouraged by outdated information.
There are several different types of effective
treatment options to manage weight including:
dietary therapy, physical activity, behavior
therapy, drug therapy, combined therapy and
surgery.
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9.
Obesity Research
In the last four decades of
obesity research, progress has been made in
identifying causes and treatments. Research has
provided a greater understanding of obesity as a
chronic disease caused by a complex interaction
of genetic, metabolic, behavioral, psychological
and environmental (social and cultural) factors.
Despite the advances in research, however,
children, adolescents and adults are continuing
to become overweight and obese in record high
numbers. Due to the complexity of obesity, more
research is needed in a variety of areas
particularly in prevention to control the spread
of this epidemic.
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10.
Obesity
and Health Insurance
Many insurance plans do not provide
reimbursement for weight loss treatment.
According to many practitioners, few private
insurance indemnity plans or managed care
organizations appear to cover the costs of
obesity treatment regardless of whether the
service is a medically supervised program of
weight reduction or maintenance, nutrition
counseling, surgery or a pharmaceutical product.
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11.
Obesity, Medicaid and Medicare
Medicaid does not cover obesity, and under
Medicare, hospital and physician services for
obesity are clearly excluded. Medicaid is a
government program that provides health
insurance to qualified individuals whose income
level is below a certain point. Recipients of
Medicaid are primarily women and children who
are poor and members of minority groups. Given
the high prevalence of obesity among those
populations, it could be presumed that many
Medicaid recipients are likely to have obesity.
Medicare provides health insurance coverage to
elderly citizens and disabled Americans who
qualify by meeting criteria of the Social
Security Administration (SSA) and completing a
two-year waiting period.
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12.
Gastric
Bypass Surgery
Surgery for the treatment of obesity is covered
on a limited basis. According to the Medicare
Coverage Manual:
- gastric bypass surgery, which is a
variation of the gastrojejunostomy, is
performed for patients with extreme
obesity. Gastric bypass surgery for extreme
obesity is covered under the program if:
- it is medically appropriate for
the individual to have such surgery.
- the surgery is to correct an
illness, which caused the obesity or
was aggravated by the obesity.
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