Can We Pay For Childhood Obesity Treatment?April, 2007
In the past five years childhood obesity and obesity treatment have become issues that require national attention, leading
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch a five year preventative program reportedly worth half a billion dollars. If it succeeds in its goal of stamping out childhood obesity by 2010,
family health insurance plans may finally become a little easier to come by.
According to the foundation, approximately 25 million children aged 17 and under are either obese or overweight. This means nearly a third of that age group, according to Census Bureau data. And, if something isn't done, by the end of this decade, at least 46% of children in North America are projected to be overweight and another 15% will be obese.
How could this have happened? Junk food, poor access to healthy outdoor environments, a diet low in vegetables, and simple bad habits have created a now dangerous childhood obesity epidemic that's been growing since the 1970s.
And, this is proving to be an expensive problem. Affordable family health insurance plans are hard to come by as it is, but when faced with the costs of childhood obesity treatment, it could become impossible. Obesity is known to contribute to a large number of serious health problems, including major killers like diabetes and heart disease. In the United States, the direct and indirect costs associated with childhood and adult obesity amounted to $117 billion in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Along with this rise in childhood obesity, there has also been an alarming increase in the incidence and prevalence of medical conditions in children and adolescents previously considered rare. Pediatricians and childhood obesity researchers are reporting increased cases of obesity-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes, asthma and hypertension, all of which were once considered adult conditions.
Facts on:
Affordable Family Health Insurance
Did you know...
Approximately 25 million children 17 and under are obese or overweight?
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Many moms and dads already struggle to find medical coverage for their loved ones. By the year 2010, if something isn't done to control the problem, this childhood obesity epidemic could cause a spike in disease, another resulting spike in health insurance premiums for all Americans, and the first drop in life expectancy experienced from one generation to the next in this country. For the first time, American children might not live as long as their parents.
Everyone agrees that the best way to cope with this problem is to teach American kids how to eat right, to make sure they get enough exercise, and to get them to a doctor for regular health checkups. Affordable
family health insurance plans might be hard to find right now, but with some extra diligence searching around online for competitive prices can ease the burden, and will go a long way towards keeping children as happy as they are healthy.
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