"Obesity outranks both smoking and drinking in its deleterious effects on health and health costs."

http://www.glahder.dk/engelsk/3xB2009/JunkFood/obesity%20Roland%20Sturm.pdf

"Recent headlines tell the story of a growing epidemic in America. In August, it was reported that people who are 80 or more pounds overweight live three to 12 fewer years than people who are normal weight, defined as between 18.5 and 25 on the body mass index scale. According to an article published in Health Affairs, one third of the rise in health care costs since 1987 is due to the rise in obesity. It is clear that obesity is taking its toll on our nation's physical and financial well-being, and unless we act, our national waistline and debt will expand exponentially.

In Texas, the economic impact of chronic diseases, including obesity, is staggering. A 2007 Milken Institute study indicates that the cost of treatment was $17.2 billion in 2003 alone — and this skyrockets to $92.5 billion when you account for lost workplace productivity. This growing problem is a sad reminder that when you get right down to it, we don't really have a health care system in America. Instead, we have a “sick care” system of uneven quality that uses most of its resources on treating people after they're already sick."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6679585.html


All kinds of statistics and information here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States

Those are just the top three in a Google search...there are literally thousands of documents out there saying the same thing as these three.

Fish on...

Todd