As much as it might be crass to say it, this makes sense. A recent study coming out of the Netherlands is concluding that as far as the financial health of a nation-wide medical program goes, obesity is good for business. Obese people and smokers tend to die 7 years earlier of relatively simple problems derived from being grossly overweight or filling their lungs with tar. People who eat or smoke themselves into such a weakened position tend to fall to things like heart disease, lung cancer and diabetes whereas healthy people need much longer and more expensive treatment for strokes and degenerative diseases. According to the study, healthy Dutch people cost the health system around $417,000 from age 20 onwards, whereas the obese and smoking populations only cost $371,000 and $326,000 respectively over the same period. The margin is not huge, but spread out over a population of 300 million, that’s some real expense. Of course, there are things more important than saving money, but this brings an interesting perspective to the re-drafting of our national health system over the next couple of years.
More on the study at “Wired Online”:http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/O/OBESITY_COST?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-02-05-02-58-08. For the study itself, consult the “Public Library of Science”:http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=index-html&issn=1549-1676
Previously counter-intuitive information featured on “Duenos health”:http://duenos.net/article/health:
* “Dirt could help fight depression”:http://duenos.net/article/115/dirt-could-help-fight-depression.
* “Napping lowers chance of heart trouble”:http://duenos.net/article/36/napping-lowers-chance-of-heart-trouble.
* “Sleeping in is good for you”:http://duenos.net/article/30/sleeping-in-is-good-for-you.