Category: Obesity Updates

Things You May Not Know About Government and Obesity

Mayor Bloomberg wants to ban large sodas. The Institute of Medicine wants to tax unhealthy folks. As John Goodman showed in a previous post, it’s hard to justify any of this. Here are some additional considerations.

Population obesity seems to have plateaued. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) shows no trend in US child and adolescent BMI since 1999. US men and women have had constant obesity rates and mean BMI since 2003. NHANES BMI measurements date suggest that the growth in U.S. overweight occurred between 1976-80 and 1988-94.

In 1997, the government made 35.4 million adults overweight overnight. It redefined overweight as a BMI greater than or equal to 25 regardless of age. Before that, overweight was BMI ≥ 27 for those 35 or older. Kathleen Flegal of the National Center for Health Statistics estimates that the change increased the fraction of overweight adults from roughly a third of the population to over half of it.

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Jun 15, 2012 | 9 comments | by

O would some power the giftie gie us…

A team of researchers led by a group from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently asked 3,622 young men and women in Mexico to estimate their body size based on categories ranging from very underweight to obese. People in the normal weight range selected the correct category about 80 percent of the time, but 58 percent of overweight students incorrectly described themselves as normal weight. Among the obese, 75 percent placed themselves in the overweight category, and only 10 percent accurately described their body size.

Source: Tara Parker-Pope in the NYT.

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May 03, 2012 | 4 comments | by

The Wages of Obesity

They’re lower, unless you are male, or black.

In 2008, obese women made an average of $5,826 (15 percent) less than normal-weight females, the George Washington University researchers said….

White women who were obese had lower wages in both 2004 and 2008 than normal-weight white women, while wages were lower for obese white men only in 2004….

In 2004, Hispanic women who were obese earned $6,618 less than normal-weight Hispanic women. In 2008, the gap among women narrowed slightly but doubled for men. Hispanic men who were obese earned $8,394 less than normal weight Hispanic men.

In both 2004 and 2008, black men who were obese earned more than normal-weight black men, while wages were similar for obese and normal-weight black women.

HealthDay News story here.  Pointer from Jan Gurley.

 

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Jan 03, 2012 | 5 comments | by

Obesity Explained

Since 1960, American adults have, on average, gained 28 pounds. That’s the equivalent of a small child. In his new book, Heavy: The Surprising Reasons America Is the Land of the Free — and the Home of the Fat, Richard McKenzie details what he believes are the economic causes of this increase:

  • The growth in world trade freedom
  • The downfall of communism
  • The spread of free-market economics
  • The rise of women’s liberation
  • The long-term fall in real minimum wage
  • The rise of competitive markets on a global scale

The rise of women’s lib? McKenzie claims this is because more women today work outside the home (60%, up from 33% in 1950), leaving them little time to prepare healthier meals for their families:

Instead of the chicken stewed all day on the stovetop, the family understandably opts more and more frequently for prepackaged frozen chicken fingers or chicken dinner at the nearby restaurant. Time and money may be saved, but not calories, as processed and prepackaged foods as well as restaurant menus tend to be more calories-rich than home-produced meals without processed ingredients.

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Dec 02, 2011 | 8 comments | by

Japan (Of All Places) Has a Fat Tax

This is by way of Robin Hanson, who provides further commentary:

The law mandates that local governments and employers add a waist measurement test to the annual mandatory check up of 40-75 year olds. For men and women who fail the test and exceed the maximum allowed waist length of 33.5 and 35.4 inches, they are required to attend a combination of counseling sessions, monitoring through phone and email correspondence, and motivational support.

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Nov 28, 2011 | 10 comments | by

Is The FDA Keeping Us Fat?

Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. A Gallup poll found that 86% of full-time workers are overweight. A report in Health Affairs by Kenneth Thorpe, shows that 7% weight loss in just a small segment of the older adult population (60-64 year olds) could save Medicare as much as $15 billion. And the savings could be up to $35 billion if those individuals lost 10% of their body weight.

Despite this, last year the FDA rejected three new obesity therapies — Qnexa, Contrave, and Lorqess — the most promising of which, Qnexa, has been shown to bring about sustained weight loss greater than 10% of a person’s body weight. The FDA wanted additional evidence of the drugs were safe and effective in the short term; and evidence showing long-term weight loss. The rub is that the ingredients in two of the three therapies are known to be safe — they’re already FDA approved and widely available for treating migraines, depression, and other conditions. The first of the three drug makers is now going back to try again, having resubmitted its application for FDA approval.

Arguably, the main reason the FDA is hesitant to approve an obesity drug is because it considers nothing as safe for controlling weight as diet and exercise. However, diet and exercise generally fail. And there are few medications available — most of which are ineffective. That leaves surgery, a drastic step for many with a relatively high risk of death.

Without prescription weight-loss drugs, people turn to over-the-counter remedies, many of which are not very safe either. These include highly-caffeinated energy drinks that can raise blood pressure and herbal remedies bought on the Internet, many of which come from China and actually contain active ingredients that have been banned by the FDA.

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Nov 10, 2011 | 14 comments | by

Poll: Penalize Smoking, but Not Obesity

An NPR-Thompson Reuters Health Poll, which asks whether those who smoke and those who are overweight should be charged more for health insurance:

A solid majority — 59 percent — say that smokers should pay more for health insurance than nonsmokers…  Americans aren’t too keen on higher charges for people who are overweight or obese. Some 69 percent are opposed to that, leaving 31 percent in favor.

HT: Sarah Kliff at Ezra’s blog.

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Nov 08, 2011 | 15 comments | by

Denmark Introduces “Fat Tax”

Denmark has imposed “a fat tax” on foods such as butter and oil as a way to curb unhealthy eating habits.

The Nordic country introduced the tax Saturday, of $2.90 per 2.2 pounds of saturated fat in a product.

…the tax will increase the price of a burger by round 15 cents and raise the price of a small package of butter by around 40 cents.

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Oct 04, 2011 | 7 comments | by

Can You Be Obese and Healthy? Apparently, Yes.

The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that fewer than 10 percent of healthy obese people in their 50s and 60s without risk factors for heart disease went on to develop heart failure over six years.

By contrast, 16 percent of their slimmer peers, also without the suite of risk factors known as metabolic syndrome, ended up with the debilitating condition.

Reuters story here. Study here [gated, but with abstract].

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Sep 21, 2011 | 5 comments | by

More Obesity News from The Lancet

This is via Kevin Outterson at The Incidental Economist.

What does it take to lose weight?

Experts have underestimated how significant calorie reductions need to be in order to lose sustained weight. The new models call for daily caloric reductions in range of 30 – 40% for very significant weight loss (i.e., a 220 pound sedentary man reducing his 3000 calorie/day diet down to 1800 per day, in order to lose 44 pounds in 6 months).

What difference would it make?

Obesity-related health costs in the US will reach $28 billion in 2020. This sounds like a lot until you compare it to US national health expenditures in 2020:

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Aug 29, 2011 | 4 comments | by
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