Winning Infographic Shows How to Cut the Fat in Healthcare
April 3rd, 2013 1 Min readTo help raise awareness for National Public Health Week, April 1-7, the American Public Health Association held an infographic contest to promote this year's theme, "Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money."
One of the winning entries was created by a team of graduate students at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and is titled The Cost of Obesity. It's worth a minute of your time to consider the bigger impact this will have (beyond the waistlines of our pants).
While it's obvious this is a growing epidemic, did you realize that obesity has caused more chronic health conditions than smoking, drinking or poverty? Overweight- and obesity-related conditions are the second-leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
As we point fingers at who we think is at fault for the ridiculous costs of healthcare, keep in mind that obesity was associated with $152 billion in medical costs in 2009. That was four years ago; meanwhile, we keep getting fatter.
For those of us who've once again abandoned our New Year's resolution to lose weight, here's something to ponder: If we continue to fail at reducing the obesity rate in this country, how will it spill over into healthcare delivery, including access to care and the doctor shortage?
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