The skinny on weight loss
Dr. Bruce J. Grandstaff | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 14 years, 9 months AGO
From PRNewswire on July 21: "As the Obama Administration sets its sights on overweight Americans, demanding obesity ratings for all citizens by 2014, the Health and Human Services Department announced this week that under the Stimulus Law, health providers must establish 'meaningful use' of electronic health records to qualify for federal subsidies or risk seeing their Medicare and Medicaid payments slashed. The electronic health records must include Americans' body mass index, or BMI, height and weight.
Former secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, a long-standing advocate in the fight against obesity says, 'As secretary, I launched a 'Call to Action' to fight excess weight and obesity. Personal, accurate and actionable information is a first step to people understanding their health and changing behaviors. To achieve those goals requires smart incentives by government, schools and the private sector, not legislated mandates built on outdated science.'
According to Thompson, the requirement to measure BMI underscores the faults in the new regulations. He points to a growing consensus in the scientific community backing the use of "body composition analysis," including a new University of Southern California study that points to this new model in obesity management.
Thompson notes, 'A new generation of private sector firms including StayHealthy are bringing innovative, effective and affordable new tools to the American public based on the medical community's consensus about body composition analysis that will enable Americans to understand and change their health and behavior on their own without government interference.'"
You may ask, "So why is our government (and employers) so concerned about my being overweight or obese?" For the same reasons you should be - I've in previous articles written about the increased health risks. Consider the following:
Seventy percent of the burden of illness in the work place is preventable - The Wellness Council of America. A high-risk plan member costs approximately $2,000 more than the average for annual medical claims -Journal of American Medical Association. Obesity related disabilities cost employers an average of $8,720 per year- UnumProvident.
Fewer work hours: On average, obese workers tend to lose a week of work a year due to ailments related to their weight, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
A firm of 1,000 employees loses $285,000 a year due to obese - not overweight - employees, about 30 percent of which is attributable to increased absenteeism - Eric A. Finklestein and Laurie Zuckerman's "The Fattening of America."
The heaviest employees had twice the rate of workers' compensation claims as their fit co-workers - Duke university.
Lifestyle changes that bring about 5 percent to 7 percent loss in body weight can prevent or delay the onset of type II diabetes for people at risk for the disease - National Research Council.
Obese individuals spend 77 percent more money for necessary medications than non-obese - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Obesity accounts for 13 percent of private insurance expenditures - Health Affairs 2009.
The seriously obese are 48 percent more likely to have health care claims of more than $5,000 and miss one additional week of work in one year - Spectrum Health Systems.
I could go on and on. Obesity and overweight is a national problem and a very personal one to those who are overweight. We have answers. For a free consult or to attend Dr. Grandstaff's class on physiology of weight gain and loss please call 772-6015. Come on C d'A, let's lose weight and get healthy together.
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ARTICLES BY DR. BRUCE J. GRANDSTAFF
The Skinny on Weight Loss: Part IV
Why eating less, eating a balanced diet and exercise are impractical for serious weight loss and can be dangerous.
The Skinny on Weight Loss: Part I
As attested to by the many ads in the media, we are a nation of dieters. According to the Surgeon General of the United States, "The greatest threat to our country isn't terrorism, it's obesity." Perhaps more of us should be thinking about losing the unhealthy extra weight we've accumulated. But losing weight is physiologically unnatural. Many of you have tried can attest to that and that's why 95 percent of people who have successfully lost weight will gain it back.
The Skinny on Weight Loss: Part III
How to obtain rapid weight loss safely and not create nutrition deficiencies.