Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of all medical spending in the United States or an estimated $147 billion a year, U.S. researchers said Monday. (Reuters) They said obese people spend 40 percent more — or $1,429 more per year — in healthcare costs than people of normal weight. They found U.S. obesity rates rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, driving an 89 percent increase in spending on treatments for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Obesity now accounts for 9.1 percent of all medical spending in the United States, up from 6.5 percent...
Posts Tagged ‘ US ’
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell :: 5 Step Plan
The Center for American Progress (CAP) has issued a five-step plan for repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” that begins with an executive order suspending gay discharges. According to the Palm Center, 77 members of congress (more than enough) are asking President Obama to suspend the ‘gay ban’. According to the report, “President Obama should issue an order prohibiting the Secretary of Defense… from establishing, implementing, or applying any personnel or administrative policies, or taking a personnel or administrative action, in whole or part on the basis of sexual orientation.” The report says that this would “include banning further dismissals...