Today, two-thirds of U.S. adults
and nearly one in three
children struggle because they are overweight or have obesity. The
effects of the nation’s obesity epidemic are immense: taxpayers,
businesses, communities and individuals spend hundreds of billions of
dollars
each year due to obesity, including an estimated $168 billion in medical
costs. Obesity is the reason that the current generation of youth is
predicted to live a shorter life than their parents. Much can be done
to
reverse the epidemic, yet important opportunities to tackle obesity at
the
national policy level -- including changes that enable more Americans to
eat
healthy and be active, as well as those that provide appropriate medical
treatment for patients -- have gone largely unmet. The Campaign works
to
fill this gap. By bringing together leaders from across industry,
academia and public health with policymakers and their advisors, the
Campaign
provides the information and guidance that decision-makers need to make
policy
changes that will reverse one of the nation’s costliest and most
prevalent
diseases.
Campaign Priorities: Policy Solutions with Measurable
Results The toll is shocking: two thirds of adults and nearly one in three children
struggle with obesity. In 1996, no state had an adult obesity rate above 20
percent. In 2008, 49 states did.
Obesity is now one of the country’s costliest medical conditions. Taxpayers,
governments and businesses spend billions on obesity-related conditions each
year, including an estimated $168 billion in medical costs.
The solution to this epidemic sounds simple, but obesity is a complex disease,
reflecting changes in our lifestyles, schools, families, businesses,
communities and even the way we interact with the health care system. As with
other pressing U.S. public health challenges – like encouraging Americans to
smoke less and use seat belts – public policies are needed to create the
environment for change.
To learn more about changes in federal policy that will enable more Americans
to eat healthy and be active, as well as those that provide appropriate
medical treatment for patients, visit the Campaign to End Obesity Action Fund's website by clicking here.
