- Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD
The epidemic of overweight and obesity is taking a toll on the physical health and financial health of New York. This public health crisis is affecting adults and children, as well as communities, schools and businesses.
Obesity and the lack of exercise are directly linked with a broad array of health problems; including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis-related disabilities and some cancers. Here are just a few of the disturbing statistics about this epidemic:
- Almost 60% of adult New Yorkers are overweight or obese (36.7% overweight
and 20.6% obese).
- Almost half (43%) of the children in New York City’s public
elementary schools are overweight and a quarter qualify as obese.
- Obese adults incur significantly higher annual medical expenditures
higher than those of normal weight adults. The cost now rivals that
attributable to smoking.
- Obesity-attributable medical expenditures cost New York State government and businesses $6 billion a year. Medicaid alone spends $3.5 billion.
The New York State Public Health Association (NYSPHA) is providing these links as a resource to providers and consumers. Our goal is to be a catalyst for change. We hope that the information you will find here will help reduce barriers to change and empower both individuals and communities to move toward long-term health improvement. We welcome you and invite you to browse through this site.
If you have any suggestions or encounter any problems, please notify us at info@nyspha.org.
Links
| Professional
|
Consumer |