Obesity Is Last on List of Concerns

A few months ago, results from a very revealing Pew Research Center survey were published. In the survey, 1503 adults were asked to choose, from a list of 22, the primary issues the president and Congress should work to resolve. And even though obesity is a pressing concern, obesity was last on the list. Only 19% of the respondents felt that obesity was the primary issue. While adults are concerned with a number of important issues today, it is surprising that obesity was last on the list.

Number one on the list was the economy. This is not surprising since so many people are out of work or worried about being out of work. In fact, jobs was number two on the list of issues, while Medicare and health care costs were seven and eight, respectively.

What's interesting about the top issues on the list is their relationship to obesity. Reducing obesity would positively affect all of these items -- especially the economy. According to a study sponsored by Allergan, a maker of a lap band, obesity costs the US economy over $70 million per year. While Allergan is perhaps biased in favor of a large obesity economic impact, since the impact would increase the market for lap bands, another study concluded that obesity costs the US more than $147 billion per year.

At any rate, reducing obesity would likely lower health care costs. Reducing health care costs would benefit the economy and other issues, worldwide, and in the US. Moreover, reducing health care costs would leave additional funds in many US employers' coffers, since employers are among the biggest health care payers in the US. So these employers have a vested interest in lowering health care costs. Thus, employers should continue to invest in wellness programs to help lower employer health care bills.

Although the survey respondents considered obesity to be the least important concern that the president and Congress should work to resolve, President Obama and his administration have put a lot of emphasis on reducing obesity in the US. This emphasis is reflected in last year's health care law. For example, the law contains endorsements of obesity counseling and employer wellness programs.

The wellness program endorsement offers an opportunity for primary care physicians and bariatric physicians to partner with employers to forcefully address obesity, and help lower health care costs.

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Tags: environmental scanning, balanced scorecard, strategic planning, strategic management, business planning, bariatric surgery, bariatric medicine, wellness program