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The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reported this week new obesity statistics that predict a dark future in American healthcare, and with it, the potential for even greater disparity in medical treatments for those who don't enjoy the benefits of individual health insurance or employer based coverage.

Researchers, cited by medicalnewstoday.com, found "that obesity/overweight rates in America have been steadily increasing at a median rate of 0.2% to 0.8% annually over the past three decades across a wide spectrum of society," and that should current trends continue, "Three-quarters of Americans will be overweight by 2015."

At the same time, obesity and disease related to obesity (including heart disease and diabetes) are the number 1 killers in America today, and have contributed to the spike in costs associated with healthcare in general, and the costs of individual health insurance and small business health insurance in particular.

So, could these obesity statistics predict an even greater disparity in medical treatment for those who will suffer from disease?

For those who don't get medical coverage, don't go to yearly checkups, and don't take precautions against obesity, the answer could easily be yes.

However, other obesity statistics have found that those with some kind of individual health insurance, and who attend regular checkups, are far more likely to stop dangerous diseases before they can become life threatening.

And this saves not only lives, but costs as well; long term treatments are much more expensive than yearly appointments, proving yet again that access to medical coverage is truly a life saver.