By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES, Mar 12 (Reuters) - Obesity exacts a higher toll on health and healthcare costs than either smoking or drinking as serious obesity-related problems like diabetes are near epidemic levels, according to a study released on Tuesday.

"Smoking and drinking, which are on the decline, have been the focus of research and policy work for years. Yet obesity, which can have far more serious health consequences, has received far less interest," said Roland Sturm, author of the study and a researcher at the UCLA/RAND Managed Care Center for Psychiatric Disorders in Santa Monica, California.

The study found that obesity--linked to health complications including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers--raises a person's healthcare costs by 36% and medication costs by 77%.

Smoking and drinking also cause serious health problems, but the study, released by the journal Health Affairs, found that smoking leads to a more modest 21% rise in healthcare costs and 28% increase in medication costs, with smaller effects seen for problem drinkers.

"Obesity is associated with a lot of chronic conditions, which have a large impact on health costs. Diabetes needs constant care," Sturm said. Diabetes, a condition in which the body's ability to process sugar is impaired, raises the risk of kidney failure, blindness, heart disease and circulatory problems that can force amputations.

Sturm cited more and more hours in front of the television, less physical activity and a car-obsessed culture as significant causes of American's growing obesity problem.

The US Surgeon General in a December report placed the blame on diet and urged people to cut back on sugar and fats. The recommendation was criticized by the Sugar Association, which thought the report should have stressed fitness more.

The RAND study, based on a 1998 US household telephone survey of about 10,000 adults, found that people who are obese have 30% to 50% more chronic medical problems than smokers or problem drinkers.

Health experts have said the number of diabetes cases in the US could nearly double over the next 50 years as a population fond of junk food and prone to obesity ages.

Obesity rates in the United States nearly doubled in the 1990s--from around 12% in 1990 to 23% in 1998, when the study was conducted. In comparison, daily smokers made up 19% of the population and 6% were classified as heavy drinkers.

The recent Surgeon General's report said 27% of Americans are obese, and 61% are overweight.

People with a body mass index--a measure of weight in relation to height--of more than 30 are considered obese. For example, someone 5 feet 8 inches tall who weighs 197 pounds or more would be classified as obese.

In terms of dollar amounts, the study found that obesity raised healthcare costs by an average of $395 a year, while smoking increased costs by $230 and heavy drinking is associated with a $150 annual increase.

Sturm said higher taxes on cigarettes have played a big role in deterring people from smoking, but a similar approach to weight control--the so-called "twinkie tax"--is unlikely to work.

"I don't think McDonald's is making people obese. We need to have more of a public health angle, not just doctors telling people to lose weight," Sturm said.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...312elin017.html

Is there a high correlation between obesity and these problems? Undeniably.

But is it a causal relationship? Has any research ever explored that? So how do they know that obesity causes diabetes and heart disease and any of these others? Why isn't it just as reasonable to conclude the these diseases cause obesity? Why isn't it just as reasonable to assume that whatever causes the these other problems is also what is causing obesity?

Abouth 30 years ago a weak but definite correlation was noticed between ACT test scores and the altitude where the student took the test (and, by extension, grew up in most cases). Immediately all kinds of people started pronouncing how the thinner air retards the brain's growth and you name it.

Finally, someone decided to test the basic hypothesis and did a similar analysis on SAT scores. They also found a significant correlation - the other way. Students at higher elevations did better on the SAT.

The eventual conclusion was that, at that time - it's quite different now - older, established universities accepted the ACT and the newer ones preferred the SAT. Since most high school students end up going to in-state colleges, high schools tended to teach toward the test that was more likely to be relevent. Since the older institutions are concentrated on the coasts and the newer schools are concentrated in the interior of the country, there is a purely coincidental correlation with altitude and whether the student's preparation prepared them more for the SAT or the ACT.

I think it's the same situation here. People just automatically assumed that a causititive relationship exists between obesity and these ailments and know one has yet bothered to test the hypothesis.

Here, here! My personal opinion is that obesity is just one of the many symptoms of over-eating carbs -- especially refined carbs.