This article I came across is a sobering reminder of the economic impact of a poor lifestyle and lack of exercise. Obesity is a well known social problem that is only becoming more prevalent as time goes on, especially in the western world.The total cost of obesity and being overweight is $270 billion in the US and $30 billion in Canada.
The $300 billion total cost in the United States and Canada is the result of: increased need for medical care ($127 billion); loss of worker productivity due to higher rates of death ($49 billion); loss of productivity due to disability of active workers ($43 billion); and loss of productivity due to total disability ($72 billion), said the Society of Actuaries (SOA).
For more detail, the standard used here is the Body Mass Index or BMI. A person is considered overweight if their BMI score is between 25 - 29.9. Obesity is considered a score of 30 or higher.
The findings are so grim and important to overall society that researchers are strongly urging insurance companies to offer incentives for people to lose weight. Another SOA survey found that 83% of respondents would be willing to follow a healthy lifestyle program if their insurance providers offered such incentives.
Forgive me but it disappoints me to no end to think that people need 'incentives' to improve their own health. This is a message that I relay to my patients on a daily basis, "you must keep moving!!". Not just because many of my patients recover faster with appropriate activity and exercise but because it's has so many other health benefits.
If you're in the Commercial Drive neighborhood of East Vancouver, stop by the clinic or visit the website at;COMMERCIAL DRIVE - EAST VANCOUVER CHIROPRACTOR; DR. DOMINIC CHAN DC!!!
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