ChastityShelton HA415 Unit 3 Assignment Chas
The Demand for Health Care
Chastity Shelton
HA415: Healthcare Policy & Economics
January 27, 2015
Professor Chelsea Allen
The Demand for Health Care
Over the past couple of decades, the United States adult population has become much heavier. Since 1987 through 2007, the adult population of obese or overweight people increased from 44 percent to 63 percent. This being said almost two-thirds of our adult population now falls into either the obese or overweight category. With this major increase in adults being obese or overweight is causing a major health challenge. These kinds of issues can cause many serious health illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Direct medical spending on diagnosis and treatment of these illnesses are likely to increase with the rising obesity levels.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has examined the changes in the distribution of adults within four categories of body weight: underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. These categories have been defined in federal guidelines by measuring body-mass index. Body-mass index is a measure that standardizes weight for height. Obesity in adults is generally defined as a BMI of 30.0 or greater, with BMI of 25.0-29.0 categorized as overweight. The CBO analyzes how past changes in weight distribution have affected the health care spending per adult and also projects how future changes could affect future spending.
There are direct medical costs for diagnosis and treatment of health issues associated with incidence of the obesity-related diseases. There is widespread agreement that the medical costs associated with obesity are substantial. Two recent studies drawn from managed care organizations to estimate the relative costs of the obese and overweight compared to the nonoverweight. A survey that used people ranging from 35 to 64 years old that had self-reported BMIs greater than 20, nonsmokers, and no history of heart disease. In this study they
Chastity Shelton
HA415: Healthcare Policy & Economics
January 27, 2015
Professor Chelsea Allen
The Demand for Health Care
Over the past couple of decades, the United States adult population has become much heavier. Since 1987 through 2007, the adult population of obese or overweight people increased from 44 percent to 63 percent. This being said almost two-thirds of our adult population now falls into either the obese or overweight category. With this major increase in adults being obese or overweight is causing a major health challenge. These kinds of issues can cause many serious health illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Direct medical spending on diagnosis and treatment of these illnesses are likely to increase with the rising obesity levels.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has examined the changes in the distribution of adults within four categories of body weight: underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. These categories have been defined in federal guidelines by measuring body-mass index. Body-mass index is a measure that standardizes weight for height. Obesity in adults is generally defined as a BMI of 30.0 or greater, with BMI of 25.0-29.0 categorized as overweight. The CBO analyzes how past changes in weight distribution have affected the health care spending per adult and also projects how future changes could affect future spending.
There are direct medical costs for diagnosis and treatment of health issues associated with incidence of the obesity-related diseases. There is widespread agreement that the medical costs associated with obesity are substantial. Two recent studies drawn from managed care organizations to estimate the relative costs of the obese and overweight compared to the nonoverweight. A survey that used people ranging from 35 to 64 years old that had self-reported BMIs greater than 20, nonsmokers, and no history of heart disease. In this study they