More than a decade ago, in 1998, the medical costs due to obesity were estimated to be ashigh as $78.5 billion. In a recent study, published in the July issue of Health Affairs the authors of the study now estimate the annual healthcare cost of obesity in the US now may be as high as $147 billion dollars a year.
The government-sponsored study was conducted by researchers at RTI International, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In 1998 the medical costs of obesity in the US were estimated at around 78.5 billion dollars a year, half of which was financed by Medicare and Medicaid.
Between 1998 and 2006, the prevalence of obesity in the US went up by 37 per cent.
This rise in obesity prevalence added 40 billion dollars to the annual healthcare bill for obesity.
Obesity is now responsible for 9.1 per cent of annual medical costs compared with 6.5 per cent in 1998.
The medical costs for an obese person are 42 per cent higher than for a person of normal weight.
This equates to an additional 1,429 dollars per year: the costs for an obese person on Medicare are even greater.
Much of the additional Medicare cost for an obese person are the result of the added prescription drug benefit.
Medicare prescription drug payments for obese recipients are about 600 dollars a year more than for normal weight recipients.
Obesity accounts for 8.5 per cet of Medicare expenditure, 11.8 per cent of Medicaid expenditure, and 12.9 per cent of private insurance expenditure.
The annual healthcare costs of obesity could be as high as 147 billion dollars for 2008.
In looking at this information it isn’t hard to see how reducing the health cost due to obesity would significantly reduce our overall healthcare costs.
Focusing on keeping people healthy, keeping children from becoming obese adults, aggressively treating increases in weight gain and those who are in the overweight category would be cost effective ways of helping to reduce these staggering costs due to obesity.
In May the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) sent a warning letter to General Mills, the manufacturers of Cheerios indicating that they had found “serious violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” in that they believe based on the packaging that Cheerios was “is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.”
According to the Warning Letter sent by the FDA to Cheerios they were accusing General Mills of marketing an “Unproved New Drug”
Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios® Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease. Specifically, your Cheerios® product bears the following claims on its label:
“you can Lower Your Cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks”
“Did you know that in just 6 weeks Cheerios can reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Cheerios is … clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A clinical study showed that eating two 1 1/2 cup servings daily of Cheerios cereal reduced bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.”
These claims indicate that Cheerios® is intended for use in lowering cholesterol, and therefore in preventing, mitigating, and treating the disease hypercholesterolemia.
Cheerios packaging has changed a lot over the years. As seen in the photo above, the claims on the packaging are that Cheerios are “Clinically Proven to Help Reduce Cholesterol.” It looks with the latest boxes on the shelves that Cheerios has removed the claims of lowering your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks.
I think that the FDA was correct in pointing out that General Mills has crossed a line in it’s packaging and marketing of Cheerios, using language that is usually used when discussing drugs.
With that said, Cheerios has been a staple in our house since the girls were young, because it is one of the few cereals out there with low fat, low sugar, high fiber and healthy benefits from oats.
The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist.
Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products.
Linda Katz, M.D.
Interim Chief Medical Officer
FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
I saw an ad for Hydroxycut in a magazine this morning and was wondering about the safety and claims made by the product. Another one of those…”looks too good to be true” and “buyer be ware.” I guess it was only been a matter of time that something would come up.
Today the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) issued an official release warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products. To date the FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. In addition one death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA.
About Hydroxycut Products
Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight-loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names. The products are prodiced by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y.
Return Products to Place of Purchase
Consumers who have any of the products involved in the recall are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase. The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.
List of Hydroxycut Products being Recalled:
The list of products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:
I learned about Shelby Allen’s story listening to a local newscast following the season finale of E.R. The executive Producer of E.R. John Wells was inspired to base the series finale on the death of his 17-year-old niece, Shelby Lyn Allen. This storyline included a group of young girls doing shots at a party. One of them was still in a coma as the show and the season ended.
In real life Shelby Allen didn’t survive the drinking game.
On December 20th 2008 17 year old Shelby Lyn Allen diedat a friend’s home of alcohol poisoning. You would have liked her, she was fun, lively, silly and wise beyond her years, but what she didn’t know killed her.
She and her friends were ignorant of the fact that approximately 8 ounces of hard liquor (the size of a small juice glass) consumed in under 2 hours can be lethal.
Shelby’s Rules Foundation
The Shelby’s Rules – Alcohol Poisoning Education Foundation was founded by her mother Debbie to raise awareness about Alcohol Poisoning:
I founded the Shelby Lyn Allen Alcohol Poisoning Education Fund after my 17 year-old daughter, an 11th grade student at Foothill High School in Palo Cedro, California died of acute alcohol poisoning. On the first night of Christmas break 2008, my daughter and her friends began drinking at a nearby home. It is unclear what happened, but we are told Shelby became violently ill and was semi-conscious when her friends left her propped up over the toilet. When she was discovered the next morning, she could not be revived.
I have vowed to do whatever I can to educate teens, young adults and parents to the dangers of alcohol poisoning. I want all of them to know that immediate medical intervention can save lives. It is my deepest desire that no other families or friends will have to endure the pain of loss that we experience every day of our lives.
Shelby’s Rules
The rules that the foundation has come up with
“Secrets Kill”
Alcohol + Vomiting = 911
They are also working on getting out the word about the Warning signs of Alcohol Poisoning:
Warning signs of alcohol poisoning:
* Vomiting
* Person cannot be roused
* Semi-Concious or Unconcious
If you see someone with one or more of these symptoms, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.
Waiting can result in brain damage, coma or death.
Don’t be afraid to call, every second counts.
It is a very sad legacy to have left behind for one’s parents. I talked to my daughters (9 and 7) about Shelby’s story and told them about the possible deadly effects of drinking too much Alcohol this morning. I hope it registered with them.
Image: Nico Van Der Merwe. Shot Glass 02. Royalty Free Use.
It is not too often that my worlds of Nutrition and Grief overlap, but they did in the case of Sam Spady.
I discovered one of my poems, “A Message from an Angel Above,” was being used as a tribute on a Memorial Page set up for a college student, Sam Spady, who died of alcohol poisoning on September 5, 2004.
You can learn more about Sam Spady by watching the Video clips below:
Death By Alcohol: The Sam Spady Story
In June 12, 2006 Sam’s Parents Rick & Patty Spady and film producer Barry Bortnick appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America to discuss binge drinking and the new DVD on Sam’s death.
You can watch the interview with co-anchor Charles Gibson here.
More about the Sam Spady Foundation
The mission of the Sam Spady Foundation is to educate all parents and students on the dangers of alcohol, specifically high risk consumption, and the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
In addition to making public appearances and having a DVD available on Sam’s unfortunate story, the Sam Spady Foundation also makes SAM Wallet Cards available for students. The foundation advocates that this is the one card that every student needs.
The back of the card has good reminders of what to do in case of suspected Alcohol Poisoning.
You may order up to 10 cards at no charge by sending an email to walletcards@samspadyfoundation.org with your name, shipping address and how you will be using the cards.
A new study came out this week in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating what many of us have been saying for years. With dieting, it doesn’t matter what diet you are on, what matters is that you are eating less (or taking in fewer calories) than you are expending.
Calories In = Calories Out
If you eat more than you burn up for the day, you will gain weight.
If you eat less than you burn up for the day, you will loose weight.
Or in more technical terms, the conclusions of the published study:
Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningfulweight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize.
The Study
In the study 811 overweight adults were randomly assigned to one of four diets with varying percentages of energy derived from fat, protein and carbs. Each of the diets consisted of similar foods and all met guidelines for cardiovascular health.
Participants were followed for a period of 2 years. They were also offered group and individual instruction sessions during this time.
The main outcome measured at the end of 2 years was the change in body weight. Among the 80% of participants who completed the study, the average weight loss was 4 kg (8.8 lbs.). A smaller percentage 14 – 15% experienced a reduction of at least 10% of their initial body weight. This study also found that attendance at group sessions was strongly associated with weight loss.
I’ve mentioned in lecture I believe we’re eventually going to be viewing food more like a drug; this news report has a bit of with a big of a lecture by Dr. Russell Blaylock on Nutrition & Behavior.
An interesting news report that takes a look at the effect of Sugar, Alcohol and Sweeteners and how these may explain children’s behavior, poor performance, criminal behavior and perhaps even the growing numbers of Alzheimer’s patients.
You can find out more about Dr. Blaylock’s lecture at www.atavistik.com.
Another example of the truth being stretched, or misrepresented in advertising and where the buyer must beware.
Federal health regulators reprimanded Coca-Cola for placing inappropriate nutritional claims on its Diet Coke Plus soft drink. The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to the company, objecting to the product’s labeling, which describes the drink as “Diet Coke with Vitamins and Minerals.”
The FDA has pointed out that the Diet Coke Plus is misbranded. Federal regulators said the beverage does not have enough nutrients to justify the use of the word “plus” in its name.
According to the regulations, foods labeled “plus” must have at least 10 percent more nutrients than comparable products.
Additionally, the FDA said it is inappropriate to add extra nutrients to “snack foods such as carbonated beverages.”
Supersize Me is available for you to watch on Google Video. If the video is not showing up below, click on the Supersize Me link or Google for it on Google Videos.
More than a decade ago, in 1998, the medical costs due to obesity were estimated to be as high as $78.5 billion. In a recent study, published in the July issue of Health Affairs the authors of the study now estimate the annual healthcare cost of obesity in the US now may be as high as $147 billion dollars a year.
The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist.
Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
Another example of the truth being stretched, or misrepresented in advertising and where the buyer must beware.
