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The F as in Fat Study came out today and to nobody's surprise it says obesity is rising in the United States.
It is at this point in my blog post that you might expect me to get just a little bit snarky but I'm not doing it. It's hard but I'm taking this very seriously and if you read to the end, you'll find out why.
Let's look at some of the facts and figures from the study. Really look at them. Try reading them out loud. In front of your kids. Or your parents. Or how about the guy standing next to you in the elevator. I'm not kidding.
* Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year.
* the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.
* Adult obesity rates now exceed 25 percent in 31 states and exceed 20 percent in 49 states and Washington, D.C.
* Two-thirds of American adults are either obese or overweight.
* In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.
* In 1980, the national average for adult obesity was 15 percent.
* Sixteen states experienced an increase for the second year in a row, and 11 states experienced an increase for the third straight year.
Those are serious facts and figures. So serious that President Obama addressed the obesity epidemic during a health-care reform discussion at town hall meeting.
If we can help somebody control obesity, they are less likely to get diabetes. And if they are less likely to get diabetes, that means that we are going to be saving a whole lot of money in hospital costs.
Looks like maybe Obama was reading the F as in Fat report this morning, too. From the study...
A recent analysis commissioned by TFAH found that the Baby Boomer generation has a higher rate of obesity compared with previous generations. As the Baby Boomer generation ages, obesity-related costs to Medicare and Medicaid are likely to grow significantly because of the large number of people in this population and its high rate of obesity. And, as Baby Boomers become Medicare-eligible, the percentage of obese adults age 65 and older could increase significantly. Estimates of the increase in percentage of obese adults range from 5.2 percent in New York to 16.3 percent in Alabama.
During his town hall, he was very kind to a woman named Debby and called her exhibit a. Yes, I'm being a wee bit snarky. I am sure Debby appreciated his concern and offers to help but the calling her exhibit a bugged me.
But what the heck, if you can't beat 'em... let me give you an exhibit b.
I've blogged a bit about TW's mom coming to live with us and what it's like stepping into the caregiving role. I've mentioned that TW's mom is obese, she has diabetes, she has heart disease. She's been dealing with all of those things for many, many years. The diabetes and the heart disease and a bunch of other issues are all directly related to her weight. If she could lose weight, a lot of her health risks and health problems would be more easily managed and... she'd feel a whole lot better.
But it's not as easy as just saying, "Oh, we're going to help her lose weight." We've said that and you know what, we can't do it.
She eats a good, balanced diet most of the time. Her blood sugar is being managed really well, thanks to TW. But no, she isn't losing any weight. She isn't losing any weight because she has so many health problems that she usually can't get out of bed more than to walk three steps to a portable toilet. Or, if we're lucky, she can walk three steps to get into a wheelchair and inch herself the 10 feet to the bathroom to use the real toilet and get a shower.
Because she can't get out of bed, or when she does her energy level is incredibly low and her pain level is so high, she isn't burning any significant amount of calories.
She's stuck using a lot of medications to manage her symptoms and her health issues - almost all of which are related to... obesity.
TW's mom is our exhibit b. She is a 73 year old woman who is on medicare. She lives with me and TW and some of our kids.
