Current events and statistics that impact foodservice and consumer attitudes about wellness that distributor executives, managers and DSRs should know about and discuss with their operator-customers.
- Spending on health care in the United States could double by 2017, reaching $4.3 trillion and accounting for 19.5% of the nation’s gross domestic product, the government reported this week, according to HealthDay News and other sources. This finding follows last month’s report that, for the first time, health care spending grew to more than $2.1 trillion in 2006, accounting for 16% of gross domestic product. Moreover, as baby boomers begin to enter the Medicare system, there will be a major shift in health care spending from the private to the public sector. “Our expectation is that growth in health spending is expected to be steady over the projection, which is 2007 through 2017, at 6.7% per year,” report co-author Andrea Sisko, an economist with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was quoted as saying. “At the same time, we are expecting economic growth to slow to an average annual rate of 4.7%. As a result, the combination of steady health spending growth and slowing economic growth will lead to the health care part of gross domestic product rising to nearly 20% by 2017, nearly one-fifth of the economy,” Sisko said. The report was published in the Feb. 26 online edition of Health Affairs. By 2017, Medicare spending is expected to account for $884 billion, slightly over one-fifth of all national health spending. This is up from the projected spending level of $427 billion for 2007. Hospital spending is expected to increase and gradually slow down through 2017, going from $696.7 billion in 2007 to more than $1.3 trillion in 2017. Prescription drug spending is expected to slow down initially and then start to accelerate through 2017, Sisko said. Drug spending will increase from $231.3 billion in 2007 to $515.7 billion in 2017. This year, Medicaid spending is projected to grow 6.8% to $361.2 billion. Over the next 10 years, the program is expected to grow an average of 7.9% each year, reaching $717.3 billion or 16.8% of health spending by 2017, according to the report.
- Why should workers be any different than the rest of us? In a national analysis of 9,900 employee health screenings, Phoenix-based Kronos Optimal Health Co. found 65% of employees are overweight or obese. Specifically, more than 77% of men and 65% of women age 40 and older are overweight or obese. For those employees younger than 40, nearly 68% of men and 52% of women are in the overweight or obese range. Dr. Susan Kaib, medical director of Kronos, warned that these statistics point the work force toward a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. “Being overweight has profound implications on health,” she said. “Taking steps to achieve and maintain a healthy weight will significantly improve health and quality of life.” Other reports show that obesity costs U.S. companies an estimated $13 billion each year, but workplace wellness programs could trim that number down, she said. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, companies that implement wellness programs save from $1.49 to $4.91 for every dollar spent. The Kronos health screenings also revealed 67% of employees had blood pressure in the pre-hypertensive or hypertensive range, indicating they may be at risk for high blood pressure. Nearly 40% of employees had poor cholesterol levels.
- The President is challenging us. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports announced the first-ever National President’s Challenge. Beginning March 20, the six-week long physical activity aims to encourage Americans to be more active. Registration for the challenge begins March 1. “The National President’s Challenge is a great way for Americans of all ages and abilities to challenge themselves to become healthier and lead more active lives,” said Acting Surgeon General Dr. Steven Galson, M.P.H., in a press release. “Physical activity is incredibly important for living well and living longer because it helps us maintain a healthy weight, build strong bones and reduce the risk of many serious diseases.” In our youth, many completed the Presidential Fitness Test in school. However, this is the first time in its history that the President’s Council is issuing a challenge to all Americans to become active. The goal of the challenge is to meet 30 minutes of activity a day for adults and 60 minutes a day for children under 18. By using the presidential challenge website, www.presidentschallenge.org, people can keep track of their progress. Those who meet their daily activity goal for six weeks can order an award for themselves. One of the benefits of the National President’s Challenge is the do-it-yourself aspect. Everyone aged 6 and older is encouraged to be active but can set personal goals.
- New York’s City Council has passed a bill to issue 1,000 new permits for street vendors, according to the AP and local news reports. The only catch is that the new vendors must sell fruits and vegetables in neighborhoods where fresh produce is scarce. The council voted 37-9 this week to issue the permits, which will be distributed among the five boroughs in neighborhoods where at least 15% of people surveyed said they had eaten no fruits or vegetables the previous 24 hours. Department of Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the goal of the program will be to introduce fresh produce back into neighborhoods where diabetes and obesity rates have skyrocketed. Permits for the new carts will be phased in over two years.
- The San Luis Obispo County (CA) Board of Supervisors this week approved a request to apply for two grants that would support the Childhood Obesity Prevention Program, reported the local New Times. The funds would come from the United Health Group/Pacific Care Grant in the amount of $551,631 and the Community Foundation Grant in the amount of $11,000. Supervisor Jim Patterson was quoted as saying that childhood obesity in the county is a significant problem, noting that these grants are an attempt to prevent future troubles. “The reason I think it’s so important to invest in this is because so many of our children are obese or are at risk to become obese, and obesity is linked to a variety of chronic diseases,” Patterson said. “By investing in this, we can save money and solve a problem that could lead to bigger problems down the road.” If the county receives the money, Patterson said it would be used in part to hire a counselor who would coordinate diet and exercise plans for the task force. According to the American Heart Association, childhood obesity is one of America’s leading health threats. Currently, 11 million kids are overweight, and an additional 13 million are at risk for being overweight.
- Another study has concluded that a growing number of middle-aged American women are suffering strokes because of abdominal obesity, according to this week’s American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2008, reported Reuters. “The incidence of stroke is two times higher in women than men between the ages of 35 and 54,” Dr Amytis Towfighi of the University of Southern California, was quoted as saying. Towfighi and colleagues analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Surveys collected between 1988 and 1994 and between 1999 and 2004. She said women 35-54 years old who reported a history of stroke accounted for 1.79% of the 1999-2004 study population but only 0.63% of women in the same age group in the 1988-1994 survey. “The number of middle-aged women with stroke tripled,” Towfighi said. The rate of traditional stroke risk factors, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, didn’t change between the two surveys, she said. Now, she continued, waist circumference and body mass index increased significantly. Towfighi said 47% of women in the earlier survey qualified as having abdominal obesity, with a waist circumference of 88 cm or greater, while 59% of women had abdominal obesity in the later survey. The proportion of men with abdominal obesity also increased from 29-41%.