Obesity & Insurance
The Obesity Action Coalition (
OAC) issued a plea yesterday to both insurers and employers asking that they increase availability of treatment for the deadly disease of obesity and morbid obesity. The request comes after the recent publication of a study in the
New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that indicated a strong link between obesity interventions and reduced mortality rates.
The epidemic of obesity is growing in rampant proportions with one in four Americans affected by this disease. There are more than ninety-three million Americans as of now with that number expected to reach 120 million over the next five years. The causes of obesity are numerous and complex and can be direct factors and indirect ones. Obesity is the result of an energy imbalance that occurs over a long period of time. An energy imbalance within obese individuals can be caused several different ways with the three main culprits; behavior, environment, and genetics.
There are many who do not recognize obesity as a disease. The OAC works diligently to address this issue and this serious health epidemic by being an advocate that educates and promotes the increase of prevention methods and making safe treatment actions more readily available. These safe treatment options include; nutrition counseling; supervised weight-loss by a physician with or without the aid of medication; and of bariatric surgery for qualified candidates.
One of the studies led by Ted D. Adams, PhD and MPH indicated extraordinary results. It is one of the first-ever studies that has proven that deliberate weight-loss can lead to living better and longer. After experiencing bariatric surgery, the incidence of death by cancer, heart disease, and
diabetes were drastically reduced.
Joseph Nadglowski, Jr., OAC President and CEO, stated that obesity is not a cosmetic problem and the study in NEJM clearly identified the fact that obesity interventions such as bariatric surgery does indeed save lives. He qualified further that it is now time for insurers and employers to consider obesity management services an important concern needing immediate attention. When this gets done, those affected by this disease and their health care providers can begin to fight and improve their quality of life and longevity.
The OAC aims to uplift those affected by obesity as well as members of their families through education, support, and working towards eliminating the stigma associated with this disease
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