Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States where today, fully 60-70% of all Americans are considered overweight, a majority of that number clinically obese.
The obesity-related diseases include coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, certain cancers, hypertension, dyslipidemia (high total cholesterol), stroke, liver and gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, certain gynecological problems, and some depressive disorders.
Obesity data shows blacks and Hispanics have the highest rates of obesity. Blacks had 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity, and Hispanics had 21 percent higher obesity prevalence compared with whites. Among adults, obesity prevalence increased from 13% to 32% between the 1960s and 2004. Currently, 66% of adults are overweight or obese.
Costs associated with this sloth-trend impacts all levels of society. The super-sizing of all forms of American transit continues apace: First ambulances, then buses, and now crash test dummies are having to be enlarged in response to the country's obesity epidemic.
The medical care costs of obesity in the United States are staggering. In 2008 dollars, these costs totaled about $147 billion (Finkelstein, 2009). Health care spending per adult (in 2009 dollars) rose close to 80 percent from 1987 to 2007. The cost delta for obese versus normal adult weight is 30-40%.
Obama's health care system is clearly seen now as a way to transfer wealth from health-normal sized adults, to the poor minority, obese, disease ridden members of the country.
Related:
Obama "You do not want to get between Michelle and a tamale".
Related:
Obama "You do not want to get between Michelle and a tamale".
