Rising Health Issues and Physical Activity

Four different articles arrived in my “Inbox” the other day all within a couple of hours. The headlines read; Obesity on the Rise in the US; Heart disease risk factors up in Canada; Salt a key player in Resistant Hypertension and finally The Importance of Exercise and Physical activity in older patient populations. Four different articles coming from four different health agencies but all related to one aspect of our lives we take little care of. Our Health! I saw a quote the other day and it is so relative to these articles and health issues they discuss. It said “So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.” A.J. Reb Materi.

The issues of rising medical costs in both Canada and the US have been dramatic over the last 10 years putting constant strain on the system. Unfortunately preventable diseases like Diabetes, Heart disease; Obesity and Hypertension are the ones draining the most from the Healthcare system. 

The obesity issue in the United States is well documented and in a recent report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), unfortunately the message is not being received. In the survey, 32 states reported that 25% of its population were obese, 6 states were above 30%. Only the state of Colorado reported less than 20%.  These statistics demonstrate that obesity in the United States is getting worse, not better when compared to a similar study conducted in 1990. That survey showed the obese population to be at less than 15%.  The Obesity Society of America, the agency that oversees the study and research of obesity, puts the number of Americans who are obese at close to 31% or 59 million American adults.

From 2001 – 2006 the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality reported that the healthcare cost related to obesity increased more than 80%.

Obesity related health issues include: Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke and Hypertension, some types of Cancer, Sleep Apnea, Osteoarthritis and Gallbladder Disease. Of the seventeen million diagnosed cases of Type II diabetes in America, 90% are overweight. The rapid increase in the number of cases of diabetes is directly related to the growing obesity problem. The troubling part of all this is Type II Diabetes and Obesity are largely preventable. The medical evidence has proven for high-risk individuals that lifestyle changes of diet and the inclusion of moderate-intensity physical activity can have a huge impact on controlling and even delaying the onset of Diabetes.