STOP Obesity Alliance E-Newsletter

October 25, 2010

The New York Times

Nicholas Bakalar

People who are overweight are often counseled by their physicians to lose weight, but a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests that whether the advice is effective depends on how it is offered. According to the study, "Physician Communication Techniques and Weight Loss in Adults," cajoling and coaxing, scolding and reproach are all ineffective, but collaborative discussion may actually work.

Obesity: A 'Winnable' Public Health Battle?

October 22, 2010

MyHealthNewsDaily.com

Maureen Salamon

In light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s recent naming of obesity as one of six winnable battles in public health, this article explores how obesity differs from other "winnable battles" in which Americans have made marked improvement over the last two decades. "The problem is, if you define winning as everyone taking off all the weight, and keeping it off forever, it's not winnable," said Judith Stern, a nutrition professor and obesity expert at the University of California - Davis. "It is a disease, a chronic disease, and I think this is really, really hard."

Diabetes Trend Points Up, Up, Up, CDC Stats Say

October 22, 2010

The Wall Street Journal

Katherine Hobson

If current trends continue, as many as one in three U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says that currently, one in 10 adults has diabetes, but that number is expected to rise sharply over the next 40 years due to an aging population, increases in minority groups that are at high risk for type 2 diabetes, and people with diabetes living longer.

Study: Obesity Care Costs Twice Previous Estimates

October 15, 2010

The Associated Press
Mike Stobbe

Nearly 17 percent of U.S. medical costs can be blamed on obesity, according to a new study, "The Medical Care Costs of Obesity: An Instrumental Variables Approach, " that suggests the nation's weight problem may be having close to twice the impact on medical spending as previously estimated. A study released last year estimated that obesity-related medical costs have reached $147 billion, or about 9 percent of total medical costs, while this new study places obesity-related medical costs at around $168 billion. The study was led by researchers at Cornell University and Lehigh University and was released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Obese Workers Cost U.S. 73 Billion Dollars a Year: Study

October 7, 2010

AFP

Obese workers cost U.S. employers $73.1 billion a year, much of it due to being less productive on the job due to health problems, according to a study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The dollar sum lost is the "equivalent of hiring 1.8 million workers a year at $42,000 each, which is roughly the average annual wage of U.S. workers," say researchers at Duke-National University of Singapore.

For Women, It Pays to Be Very Thin

October 6, 2010

The Wall Street Journal

Sue Shellenbarger

A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology suggests that employers reward thin women with higher pay, while penalizing average-weight women with smaller paychecks. According to the researchers at the University of Florida, very thin women weighing 25 pounds less than the group average earned approximately $15,572 a year more than women of normal weight. A woman who gained 25 pounds above the average weight earned about $13,847 less than her lower-weight counterpart. Very thin men, on the other hand, tend to get paid less than male workers of average weight. The study also found that men earn more as they gain more weight, but when they become obese, the pay trend reverses. This article also mentions recent research from economists at The George Washington University that found that the annual cost of being obese is $4,879 for women but only $2,646 for men.

Employer Wellness Programs Could Benefit Families

October 4, 2010

Reuters

Lynne Peeples

According to a new study by the IBM Corporation and the University of Michigan, a relatively inexpensive short-term intervention program can pay off for children's health and for a company's bottom line. The study authors also conclude that interventions involving families can be more than twice as effective in promoting healthy eating as interventions targeting just the employee.