A new study shows that roughly 42 percent of all Americans are expected to be obese by 2030 if the nation’s obesity rate continues to rise at the same rate. But if the rate stays where it is instead of increasing by 33 percent, the U.S. would save $550 billion in health care costs over the next 20 years. Even a 1 percent decrease in the obesity rate would save $85 billion, according to the analysis released today at the Weight of the Nation conference. The Centers for Disesase Control and Prevention sponsored the conference and helped with the research that highlights the financial consequences of the obesity epidemic, according to NPR:

That rapidly growing group of severely obese people, who have the most medical problems and incur the highest health care costs, will rise from about 5 percent of the population now to 11 percent by 2030, researchers suggest.

The findings are meant to be a call to action, as experts gathered at the CDC conference consider how best to to combat obesity, a public health problem that affects about 78 million adults and 12.5 million children and adolescents.

Obesity already accounts for 21 percent of health care spending, and experts warn that the next generation may have a shorter life span because of how many Americans are considered obese. But this research proves that a small dent in the rising obesity rate could impact rising health care costs. Now if only House Republicans would stop trying to cut prevention initiatives to help improve people’s health.

Obesity is a growing health concern in the United States. A projection earlier this year estimated that 75 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020, higher than any other country surveyed. That, in turn, is expected to grow health care costs considerably.

Now, experts are warning that those kinds of preventable health conditions could make the current generation the first to live shorter lives than their parents. At a conference in Atlanta yesterday, health professionals talked about health problems like obesity, why they are becoming more prevalent, and what needs to be done to encourage Americans to live healthier lives:

Tyler Norris, a senior adviser on Total Health at Kaiser Permanente, cited the life expectancy warning as he spoke to an Atlanta audience about the burden of obesity and diabetes. [...] Of course, it’s partly what Americans eat. Many people consume too many ‘’cheap, empty calories,’’ [Kaiser Permanente health advisor Tyler] Norris told the Connections conference, sponsored by Healthcare Georgia Foundation. Lack of exercise and the increase in sedentary jobs are other major factors contributing to obesity.

Norris presented several ideas to reduce to the problem, including providing more biking and walking routes; promoting breastfeeding; and serving better food in school cafeterias.

In one case, another expert noted, two communities in New Orleans had dramatically different life expectancies, with one at 55 and another at 80. According to Brian Smedley, director of the Health Policy Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, much of the difference can be attributed to things like “food deserts,” or areas with many fast-food restaurants and few nutritious options, and a lack of parks or recreational facilities.

Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress have publicly rejected the idea that prevention programs, which have already started to help communities get healthier using those same actions, are worth funding, despite the fact that many of their constituents have a lot to gain from them.

-Zachary Bernstein

In an attempt to win back some ground on the student loan battle, Republicans have proposed legislation which would keep the interest rate on federally subsidized Stafford Loans at 3.4 percent. However, they would pay for it by repealing the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Fund is designed to support states and communities in fighting chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke and diabetes – a plan Republicans used to support.

Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a list of projects paid for by the law’s prevention program, slamming it as a “slush fund” and touting their votes to repeal it. But an analysis of national health care data shows that states represented by Republican members of the committee suffer from disproportionately high obesity and smoking rates and stand to benefit from additional investment in prevention. For instance, 14 of the states represented by a Republican are home to residents who smoke at rates at or above the national average (which stands at 19.3 percent), while eight have an obesity rate above 30 percent (national average is 35.7 percent):

As the committee’s own press release noted, several grants have been made to encourage Americans to engage in more physical activity, like biking, walking or “urban gardening,” which is designed to increase access to affordable fresh food. Others have been used to push for higher cigarette tax rates or a moratorium on fast food construction. As the data shows, obesity and smoking are at epidemic levels in these states; the programs the committee scoffed at could actually do a lot of good by bringing those rates down and lowering health care costs.

The White House has promised to veto the bill should it pass both houses of Congress, which is considered unlikely.

-Zachary Bernstein

Our guest bloggers are Rebecca Friendly and Araceli Ruano from the Center for American Progress’ California office.

At all levels of government there has been a serious push for increasing access to food among low income households and fostering more nutritious eating habits in communities and schools.
Last July, First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America secured pledges from Wal-Mart, Walgreens, SuperValu and several other stores to open or expand stores in “food deserts”, bringing healthy affordable food to approximately 10 million people over the course of five years.

That same month the First Lady also announced the California FreshWorks Fund, a public-private partnership loan fund with $264 million available to support grocery stores and other healthy food retailers in low-income, underserved communities in California. The California Endowment and a team of partners that include banks, grocers, health care providers, and nonprofits lead this initiative. Modeled after a successful program in Pennsylvania, this loan fund provides grants to healthy food retailers willing to locate stores in “food deserts”, areas lacking access to fresh, healthy food.

On Feb. 1, the First Lady spoke at a community event in Los Angeles to celebrate the progress that the California FreshWorks Fund has made in bringing affordable and healthy food to neighborhoods around the city. As one of its initial projects, the California FreshWorks Fund committed more than $20 million in funding to Southern California grocer Northgate Gonzalez Markets for its first three projects: a San Diego location as well as stores in Inglewood and South Los Angeles. The President and CEO of the California Endowment, Robert K. Ross, MD, also spoke at this event and enthusiastically stated, “we all have a shared interest in ensuring our neighborhoods, grocery stores and school cafeterias contribute positively to the health of our communities. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of what we hope will be a robust effort to expand access to nutritious food for all Californians!”

These commitments are a step in the right direction in the effort to combat the country’s obesity and hunger epidemics. Approximately one in four children in the U.S. live in a household that experiences hunger. Additionally, 30 percent of children in the U.S. are overweight or obese and among African Americans and Latinos the number soars to an estimated 40 percent.

Although hunger and obesity are oftentimes viewed as two distinct problems, they are deeply interconnected. Hunger and food insecurity are key contributors to obesity as low-income Americans are forced to rely upon high calorie, low nutrition foods to quell hunger pangs. Notably, studies have consistently demonstrated the lack of supermarkets and other stores selling healthy, affordable food in low-income communities as compared to wealthier ones. Adults in California neighborhoods with low access to healthy food are 20 percent more likely to be obese than those in higher-access neighborhoods, increasing their risk of developing chronic diseases. The California Fresh Works Fund website features a very useful interactive map that displays “Grocery Gap” statistics for various counties throughout the US and can be broken down into detailed indicators. The California FreshWorks Fund was created to tackle these food access concerns, while also addressing additional challenges faced by communities in so-called “food deserts”. In addition to improving community health, drawing grocery stores into “food deserts” also creates opportunities for economic development. Grocery stores create jobs (an estimated 49 to 120 new jobs per store), attract other small businesses to the area, and increase the surrounding residential real estate values.

Additional benefits include increased property values in the surrounding communities and increased income and property tax. This increased economic activity and property value help relieve pressure on state and local budgets and increase community sustainability.

California’s Freshworks Fund serves as a model for an innovative public-private partnership loan fund with the potential to increase access to healthy and affordable food throughout the state. This new program is proving itself as a vital component in California’s fight against hunger and obesity, and as an important force in strengthening the economies of affected communities.

Katie Wilczak, CAP CA Intern, contributed to this piece.