A recent study released by RTI International, the CDC and the Agency for Healthcare Research found that 26%, yes, one quarter of the US population is classified as obese. Think about this as it relates to the conversation that is currently occurring in Washington DC as it relates to the continuing increase in healthcare costs. Accounting for nearly 10% of medical spending or approximately $147B a year, obesity and other associated co-morbidities continue to increase at an alarming pace.

When thinking about the health reform agenda, it seems to me that prevention and wellness efforts can’t be underscored as critical to any truly sustainable outcome. Yet, the current health reform legislation continues to focus on access and financing, with little more than obligatory agreement that wellness and prevention are important. I would argue that with statistics like this, wellness and prevention are not only important but may ultimately be the only method of bending the cost curve.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 4:57 pm and is filed under health and productivity, wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.