Blood Pressure and Obesity
Lowering BP reduces health risks at all weight levels
Data from the Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study showed lowering blood pressure reduced the risk of vascular disease and stroke among patients of all body weights. Overweight and obese patients, however, have a greater baseline cardiovascular risk, so they saw the biggest benefit of all study participants, researchers said. Medscape (free registration)/Heartwire (3/12)
Weight Loss
A recent weight management study found that individuals on genotype-appropriate diets lost 5.3% of body weight compared to individuals on diets not matched to their genotype, who experienced only 2.3% weight loss.
Source: “INTERLEUKIN GENETICS, INC. AND STANFORD UNIVERSITY REPORT GENETIC TEST IMPROVES WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS,” Interleuken Genetics Press Release, March 3, 2010, http://www.ilgenetics.com/content/news-events/newsDetail.jsp/q/news-id/213
Workplace Wellness Programs Work
Employees who used them lost weight, lowered heart disease risk, study finds
TUESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) — Workplace wellness programs help employees lose weight and reduce their risk of heart disease, a new study shows. U.S. researchers followed 757 hospital workers who took part in a voluntary 12-week, team-based wellness program that focused on diet and exercise. Data on the participants’ weight, lifestyle behavior and heart disease risk factors were collected at the start of the study, at the end of the wellness program and a year after the program ended.
http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=636479
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers tips on how to prevent and control heart disease.
Asthma Rates Rising Across the U.S.
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
 Editor’s note: While the story does not deal with the root causes, is it perhaps a result of increasing rates of obesity?
TUESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) — Asthma rates are increasing across the United States, a new government study shows, but certain states have significantly lower rates of the respiratory disease. The overall rate of asthma is currently estimated to be 7.85 percent of the population, an increase of about 0.5 percent every three years. But, the report also found that some states have dramatically lower rates of asthma. For example, the study found that while almost 11 percent of people in Rhode Island had asthma, just 5 percent of those living in Louisiana had the illness. |
Prevelence of Strokes
Strokes are becoming more common among younger patients
The incidence of strokes among patients ages 20 to 45 increased to 7.3% in 2005 from 4.5% in 1993 to 1994, study data showed. Obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes may be the reasons for the increase, researchers said. The average age of stroke patients decreased from 71.3 years old to 68.4 during the same time period. HealthDay News (2/24)
Obesity Pattern Set Early
A study of more than 100 obese children and teenagers found more than half were overweight by 24 months and all were overweight by age ten.
Source: “Identifying the “Tipping Point” Age for Overweight Pediatric Patients ,” Clinical Pediatrics, February 11 2010, http://cpj.sagepub.com/cgi/rapidpdf/0009922809359418v1
What is the root cause of declining health status in children
Editor’s note: Perhaps evidence that obesity is negatively impacting the health status of our children in more ways than just being overweight.
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- The rate of chronic health conditions in children doubled from 12.8% in 1994 to 26.6% in 2006
- 51.5% reported a chronic condition at some point during their 6-year study period
- Only 7.4 % of the children who had a chronic condition at the start of the study still had that same condition at the end of it
Source: “Dynamics of Obesity and Chronic Health Conditions Among Children and Youth,” Journal of the American Medical Association, February 17, 2010, http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/303/7/623?home
Sometimes Data and Perception are Not the Same
Employee Health Conditions: Sleep Problems Top Obesity Among Prevalent Health Conditions
| Health Condition | Proportion of Employees with Condition |
| Allergy | 52% |
| Back/neck | 34% |
| Fatigue | 29% |
| Depression | 27% |
| Headache | 23% |
| High cholesterol | 22% |
| Sleeping problems | 21% |
| Obesity | 19% |
| Migraine | 19% |
| Hypertension | 18% |
Data Source: Integrated Benefits Institute
Publication: Employee Benefit News. January 2010. http://ebn.benefitnews.com/
Obesity and High Blood Pressure
Obesity threatens gains made in fighting heart disease
Gains made in fighting heart disease over the last several decades may be at risk because of increasing obesity rates, especially in children, researchers reported. Studies found that adults’ blood pressure and blood sugar levels are continuing to rise, in part due to rising average body mass index numbers, and that many people who are overweight or obese think their weight is normal. U.S. News & World Report/HealthDay News
Health Care Cost – What are some of the Root Causes
Editor’s note: Understanding the root causes, having people be accountable for life style choices, and developing systemic solutions are important to addressing the health care cost trend. If it were easy we would have done it already. No amount of legislation is going to be a fix, no less a quick fix.
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- A recent study estimated the overall medical costs of obesity to be:
- $147 billion a year.
- 9.1% of annual medical spending, up from 6.5% in 1998.
- $1,429 – or about 42% – higher annually for obese patients than those of normal weight
- 8.5% of Medicare expenditures, 11.8% of Medicaid expenditures, and 12.9% of private payer expenditures.
Source: “Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity: Payer- And Service-Specific Estimates,” Health Affairs, July 27, 2009, http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.28.5.w822/DC1
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