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HOW BAD IS IT?

Graphics provided by the Cooper Clinic

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults

1990

our healthcare dollars on desperate

measures that oſten prolong death,

not life, a few miserable days.”

What are the causes and solutions?

What is causing these problems?

Cooper points out the three leading causes:

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults

2006

1. use of tobacco 2. diet and obesity 3. inactivity

In 1990, 40% of Americans were

overweight or obese. By 2008 the num- ber had risen to 70%. By 2050, an esti- mated 100% of the population will be overweight or obese. The solution to these problems is

(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person)

Diabetes Trends Among Adults in the U.S., (Includes Gestational Diabetes)

2005

the message that Cooper has been pushing for over 40 years: healthier lifestyles through preventive medicine.

Dr. Cooper goes to Washington

Last year, the U.S. spent less than

1% of healthcare dollars on preven- tion. “We are spending way too much of our healthcare dollars on desperate measures that often prolong death, not life, a few miserable days,” says Cooper. In 2006, Cooper was asked by his

Source: Mokdad et al., Diabetes Care 2000;23:1278-83.

Contribution of Overweight and Obesity to Mortality from Cancer in the United States

good friend and patient President George W. Bush to be Surgeon General of the United States. He had turned down the same offer in 2001 when he was in the midst of saving the Cooper Institute from a financial meltdown. But this time he wanted to go for it. Travelling to Washington, Cooper

Body-Mass Index

Proportion of Overweight Children in the United States

presented his agenda for government action: childhood and adult obesity, and diabetes prevention. No, said the staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Your

Obesity Projections in America – Adults and Children (2010 – 2048)

2010 2030 2048

Adults

Children

Adults

Children Adults

Overweight Obese

66%

40%

86%

80%

36%

20%

51%

40%

100% 100%

2030 - Cost of Obesity = $860.7- $956.9 Billion Black women and Mexican-American men most affected

“We are spending way too much of

agenda has to be HIV/AIDS, avian flu and bioterrorism. It was pointed out that nine bills re-

lated to promoting healthier lifestyles had been introduced in Congress in past years and that all of them had been defeated. Cooper could not accept the position under these terms. So for the second time, he turned it down. But he did not leave empty hand-

ed. Go back to Texas, said the HHS staff, and go in the back door. Build your agenda in the schools, and let it grow nationwide. That is exactly what Cooper did and has done – and with astonishing results. (Watch for this story in our May/June issue.)

The fitness business

What relevance do American devel-

opments in preventive medicine have for operators of fitness clubs and recre- ation centres in Canada? Cooper concluded our interview

with this statement: “The only way we can reduce the cost of healthcare is to concentrate on the prevention of dis- ease not the treatment of disease.” Much of Cooper’s work applies to

Canada and other countries through- out the world. If the medical profes- sion cannot take the lead in preventive medicine, could the fitness business in Canada not play a leading role? Government health promotion pro-

grams do help to make people aware of the benefits of healthier living to the individual and to the healthcare sys- tem. But promotional programs alone have limitations, and they alone do lit- tle to create change. The Cooper Clinic is a fine example

of how medical practitioners working with fitness and nutrition profession- als can achieve remarkable results in preventive medicine. There are excellent Canadian fit-

ness clubs and wellness facilities where medical and fitness professionals work together. We would do well to learn from their examples as we face the challenge of saving our own health- care system. FBC

Don Longwell is the former publisher of Fitness

Business Canada.

24 Fitness Business Canada March/April 2009

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