The Weighty Problem No Candidate Will Touch

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July 28, 2008 12:59 PM EDT by Brian Sullivan

The Weighty Problem No Candidate Will Touch

Its the massive problem no politician will touch.

Boone Pickens notes that importing foreign oil for our needs costs America about $700 billion dollars per year.   We also know that high gas prices eat into American's pocketbooks. We hear it daily from politicians, especially the presidential candidates.

But if we are doing all this ranting in the name of economics, why then is there almost no discussion about what may be an even more expensive problem -- chronic disease and obesity.

A Milken Institute report found that just seven chronic diseases in America -- diabetes, cancer, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, pulmonary conditions and mental health disorders -- cost the economy more than $1 trillion dollars per year.   That's trillion, with a T.     And that number is expected to surge to $6 trillion by mid-century.   Over 100 million Americans are afflicted with one of the seven chronic conditions.    Its even costing the airline industry.

For certain much of this cost has nothing to do with lifestyle.    A few of those seven diseases - notably cancer and mental health conditions - can cruelly strike anyone at any time.   But the report notes that the majority of the chronic diseases eating billions in health care costs and lost productivity do have a strong relationship with obesity and controllable factors such as smoking.

You would think with these kinds of numbers it would be as hot a political topic as oil.    It's not.   And it's not hard to figure out why.   It doesn't matter how much good it may do.   Offering lifestyle suggestions to voters is about as politcally savvy as advising them to fight the high price of gas by simply driving less.

8 Comments

Justin

People should have the freedom to be as fat as they wanna be, and I should have the freedom to not pay for their medical bills through tyranical taxation. Let them croak for all I care. Ultimately, we are responsible for our own actions. What happend to America's rugged individualist past?

July 28, 2008 at 5:30 pm

Mary Cooperman

I believe that many of the "big seven" are caused by stress--yes, even overeating. The main stress that all are suffering is from OVER TAXATION! Just fast forward to the amount spent on the "B S" when Obama takes office unless he intends to tax by the pound.

July 30, 2008 at 1:08 pm

stan taves

Good blog. However, at the end of the day energy is something we can be proactive about as a society. Ones health, on the other hand, is more about personal decisions than is is about anything that we as a people should be expected to do. In other words, when push comes to shove, society isn't going to pay for bad health. But here's the dirty little secret: Our health as a society is clearly linked to the abuse of "cheap energy" for more than a century now. In other words "cheap energy" has made us fat, crazy, and sick. Solution: take the "cheap" out of energy and the culture will start to regain it's strength.

July 30, 2008 at 1:48 pm

Dennis Butler

Solution. Make people responsible for their own health and health care. Most of the conditions you refer to are the result of life style CHOICES. I am over weight and if that was reflected in MY cost for health care and NOT my employers or my neighbors cost, that would be fair.

July 30, 2008 at 2:25 pm

Loey

So charge people who are the problem. Base airfare on weight. Not just weight of bags, but passenger weight. If weight is a factor, Why should I, at 130 pounds, pay as much as the guy who weighs 300 pounds? Why do restaurants brag about huge portions, and charge huge prices? Let customers chose their portion size and pay accordingly. Let insurance companies charge for health insurance based on weight if that's such a factor.

July 30, 2008 at 8:59 pm

go justin

yes, justin... i agree completely. government health care for everyone? who's actually stupid enough to try and sell the idea of socialized health care (i'm rolling my eyes).

July 31, 2008 at 5:52 am

Geoff

I work for a life insurance company and weight is always a factor in determining rates and coverage. Funny is how the more overweight, the more "unfair" they feel it is. Over 300 pounds the problem is the finding a company to insure them, but convincing them the rate is justified.

August 1, 2008 at 4:17 am

Carol

People are born with lung disease, with heart disease, with diabetes. Not behaviorally related at all. Perhaps some of you know-it-alls would like to walk in my shoes for a while, with pulmonary fibrosis, which costs my insurance company over $300k annually, for which there is no cure, and damned little treatment. I hope you all catch something you can't help, and then see how your tune changes.

August 7, 2008 at 2:34 pm

about this blog

Brian Sullivan joined FOX Business Network (FBN) in April 2008 as an anchor. He co-anchors the 10am-12pm ET hours of the FOX Business block. Prior to joining FBN, Sullivan served as an anchor for Bloomberg Television where he hosted the programs Morning Call and In Focus.
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