A major health care issue affecting the world today will be the prevalence of overweight and obesity, even in nations that are considered to have low incidences like Japan and China. (Runge, 2007). It is linked to a collection of expensive and incapacitating health outcomes. Studies have shown that two out of three American grown adults are now overweight, and also, one out of are three obese. Health risks linked with obesity are not limited to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers, high blood pressure, asthma, osteoarthritis, and liver disease, which almost 80 percent of obese adults are plagued with. (Hammond, 2012). These diseases carry high prices socially and economically.
Medical costs for the obese people is assessed to be 36 to 100 percent higher than those without weight challenge, that is healthy weight individuals. Results by some studies indicates, that approximately 21 percent of all medical spending is obesity related, increased rates of disability and reduced productivity also comes as a result of obesity. (Hammond, 2012) Obesity is also linked to almost 400,000 deaths per year in the United States. (Gabel, et al. 2009)
Early prevention can yield significant savings from the health care stand point. A 5 percent reduction in the occurrence of diabetes and hypertension would save almost $25 billion a year in health care costs. (Hammond, 2012). Obesity constitute both public health issues and economic problems in various ways it also induces social and private costs. The cost of treating obesity and the chronic conditions that comes with it demands higher medical cost and claims expenses, increases in disability expenses, increased absence from work, and lower work efficiency when putting the employer into consideration. Obese people sustain medical expenses about 37 percent higher than individuals of normal weight.
The increasing cost of