While the FDA listens to presentations on social media a ticking time bomb continues to count down
Nov/12/2009 07:57 Filed in:
Patient Education & Working with
Physicians
Make no mistake about it obesity is going to cost us billions in healthcare dollars. What's so frustrating about this is that it could be totally preventable if the FDA took action and decided to notify the public about the dangers of overeating and obesity. If America is at war with obesity, then obesity is winning. Three out of 10 adults are obese—72 million people with a condition associated with diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and other chronic illnesses. The belt-busting American waistline is becoming as much a political as public health question—and if some politician hasn’t already introduced the No Buffet Left Behind Act, he will after this week’s big “Weight of the Nation” report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to a recent article researchers have determined that the reason we are overweight is that our portion sizes are too big and that we snack too much. Restaurants are serving bigger portions to entice diners and we ingest more sugar per capita than any other nation on earth. So if the trend is that we are getting fatter and CDC researchers estimate that obesity now accounts for 9.1% of all medical spending—$147 billion in 2008 and the Milken Institute estimates that chronic disease costs more than $1.2 trillion every year than why isn’t someone doing something to educate the public? Is it because they think we are too far gone or is the restaurant lobby too powerful?
This is a threat to our national health and because of the dollars needed it could also be a threat to our national security. Where is the FDA when all this is going on? Having a two day meeting on social media? OK, folks, something is terribly wrong here.
I do applaud the FDA for slapping the hands of the high sugar cereal manufacturers for their bad labeling but why can't the FDA take some of their budget money or ask Congress for more dollars to fight obesity with a national awareness campaign that would scare anyone who eats high fat, high sugar meals twice a day ?
I want universal health coverage and I want better health care for everyone but at sometime we all have to take responsibility for what we eat and our lack of exercise. I ride my bike everyday that I can because it's a great workout. Sure I'd love to have a cheeseburger and fries for lunch but I know it's not healthy to do that everyday. The FDA needs to go to Congress with a plan to fight obesity and it had better so quickly because it may already be too late.
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