Thursday, October 24, 2013

How Much Is That Twix

How Much Is That Twix




What does it cost us to be a society that chooses unwisely for health options? How much does it really cost us to have a candy bar, answer, a Twix? Its gone up to $1 for a candy bar now ( fantastic to chocolate junkies ). Do we really know the costs? We do, in reality California funded a state - wide study regarding health care costs related to obesity and the ample rank of many of its residents. They published it once in 2000 and decommissioned the same firm to repeat the study in 2010. The findings are fine, but after all its California not here ( unless you are saying this in California ). That shouldnt diminish the value of the study. The California study showed that the total annual estimated cost to California for obese, obesity and evident sleepiness was $41. 2 billion $21. 0 billion for chubby and obesity, and $20. 2 billion for undoubted torpor. Health care costs totalled $20. 7 billion and lacking productivity costs reached $20. 4 billion. Health care costs associated with obese and obesity were $12. 8 billion while health care costs associated with unaffected lethargy totalled $7. 9 billion. Conclusively, missed productivity costs associated with portly and obesity were $8. 2 billion, and invisible productivity costs associated with undeniable torpor were $12. 3 billion. Those numbers are shocking and Im certain that a few readers are thinking well California has more people than my state or those godforsaken coasters are very different from people in my state. And I would respond by saying not true. The numbers might be different but the ratios are the twin. omnipresent, and so the conclusions are coincidental. I would declare that in conclusion the numbers show us that whatever our states actual costs for what we have to pay for being out of shape is, in a word, universally unacceptable.

The study also makes several recommendations which are great ideas and should be enacted by communities across the country regardless of the state. To reduce the economic burden associated with an chubby, obese and physically inactive population, policies must be down pat at all levels to promote healthy eating and material activity.

Nationally public health and prevention must be core elements of national health care reform.
State - wide health and human service agencies that influence environments where people live, work, learn and play must promote health through their policy and funding decisions.
At the corner and field level, local policies must be down pat to make certain that communities are places where residents can chewed make healthy eating and activity choices.
I would add in a few additional suggestions:

Create convenient and safe opportunities for essential activity for all residents including bike paths, animated / running trails with lighting and safe from traffic. People must observe that they have access to better choices and those choices must be fine to utilize.
Speaking of impulse, how about a tax itch for companies to look after health club membership or corporate fitness programs for employees? How about a tax motive for using trails, parks and recreational facility membership?
Enhance parks with play equipment including pools, playgrounds and fitness stations.
Provide funding for fitness leaders to develop programs at idiosyncratic parks to haul essential residents to participate in activities as well as assisting in park up keep and maintenance. Especial residents, who use the facilities, have no crunch assisting with maintaining the facility since they see a charge in it for themselves and their families.
Planning commissions should consider future development to nose out residential, commercial and office buildings airless together so more residents can tread and bike to meet their daily needs
Provide safe and convenient opportunities to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables by ensuring that sources of healthy foods are accessible in all neighbourhoods.
Providing subsidized areas where local farms can sell their produce, consistent Madison Wisconsin is doing with its Farmers Market. But we should go one better, we should inculcate a year - round lasting structure for this program and there should be a market in every community for ease of access
To project to fit out healthy sources of produce, communities should preserve regional agriculture and farmland
Communities should protect existing community gardens and support the creation of new ones as a source of fresh produce in below - served neighbourhoods.
But more; we should create a program that allows schools to develop farm plots for their own consumption. Kids would learn things from earth science to retail business practices and everything in between. Not to mention that the investment in space attached to the school also makes the space worthwhile to local residents and care for the space and surrounding area profit would increase and healthy food would be provided to students.

No comments:

Post a Comment