Woah, Nellie! Lone Star State Seeks to Slow Rising Obesity Rate

"Everything is bigger in Texas," or so the saying goes, and these days, that includes the people.
A full 29 percent of the state's population - or well in excess of 7 million people - are not only overweight, but obese. The figure is triple the rate of obesity from a little more than 20 years ago, when less than 10 percent of the population was clinically obese. The personal impact of obesity is profound, ranging from physical discomfort and depression to increased time away from work, decreased job productivity, higher health care costs, and the risk of numerous co-morbidities (a big word for related health complications), such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, asthma and sleep apnea.
The impact on the Texas economy is equally great, particularly in terms of increased costs on the state's medical system. According to an August 2010 report by the Centers for Disease Control, each person incurs an average $1429 per year in medical expenses. That totals a Texas-sized ten billion dollars of increased liability for medical bills alone.
These costs are largely passed on to employers, as most Texans with private health insurance coverage are enrolled in employer-based plans, although Medicaid also carries part of the burden. If obesity rates continue to rise, the state could face a devastating financial impact.
The tried and true way of losing weight, of course, is by restricting calories and increasing physical activity. But the reliance on cars for transportation and the convenience of drive-through franchises and processed foods mean people are less inclined to watch their eating and exercise habits, and more inclined to pack on extra pounds.
"Many times, people have tried the diets, they've tried exercise, but they regain the weight," says Dr. David Provost, a world-class surgeon who performs gastric bypass surgery and other bariatric operations to treat patients suffering from clinical obesity. "Whether it's because they are genetically predisposed to obesity or they have been unable to maintain a healthy lifestyle, they need to try something different," he says.
As Medical Director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Denton, Dr. Provost says that he has seen an increase in the number of people seeking weight loss surgery in North Texas.
"I am also seeing an increase in the number of revision surgeries from people who may have had a procedure several years ago by another doctor and have regained the weight," he notes.
Shedding excess weight not only can reduce health care costs for the individual and the state, but also dramatically improve a person's quality of life. Besides reducing the risk of stroke, heart attack and cancer, achieving a healthy weight - whether through diet and exercise or with weight loss surgery - can resolve serious health concerns, like diabetes and high blood pressure. Lower weight also has been shown to increase energy levels, meaning that there is a marked increase in the amount and quality of work that is performed by people who have lost large amounts of weight.
Sadly, Texas, like many other states, is not likely to see a change for the better anytime soon. A report from 2005 indicates that the rate of obesity was 27 percent, meaning that the trend is still heading in the wrong direction. As more and more residents move farther from a normal weight, the state may need to get more and more drastic in its measures to allay the costs of obesity.

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