Health News
- Most Kentuckians Don't Think Insurance Rates Should Be Higher For The Obese, But Are Divided On Increasing Smokers' Rates
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News By a very small margin, Kentuckians think insurance rates should be higher for smokers if the insurance company provides a free smoking cessation program, but most don't think rates should be higher for those...
- Study Says Overweight Kids Become Overweight Teens
If a child is overweight in kindergarten, she probably will be in eighth grade, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And if your baby was heavy at birth, it has a greater chance of being fat. It found overweight kindergartners...
- Childhood Obesity Is Linked To More Immediate Health Problems Than Doctors Formerly Realized
While a plethora of research on childhood obesity has linked it to long-term health problems, a new UCLA study focuses on the condition's more proximate consequences, showing that obese children are at a greater risk for immediate health problems...
- Study: Smoke-free Workplace Leads To Fewer Heart Attacks
Mayo Clinic researchers have found a 33 percent drop in heart attack rates in a Minnesota county after public smoking bans were enacted. This, while rates of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity remained the same or even increased after...
- For First Time, Annual Health Costs For Families Exceed $20,000
For the first time, the average annual costs of workplace-provided health insurance and other costs for a family of four has exceeded $20,000, a new study has found. Costs are $20,728 this year, an increase of $1,335 over 2011. An average family...
Health News
Obesity adds more health-care costs than smoking, study finds
Obesity costs the health care system more than smoking does, a new study has found. The annual health costs for someone who is obese average $1,850 more than for a person a normal weight. The excess costs were up to $5,500 per year for people who are morbidly obese. Smokers' health costs averaged $1,275 more than those of nonsmokers.
Researchers studied the additional costs "of smoking and obesity among more than 30,000 Mayo Clinic employees and retirees. All had continuous health insurance coverage between 2001 and 2007," reports research-reporting service Newswise. The findings were published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The additional costs associated with obesity appeared to be lower after they were adjusted for other related health problems. "This may lead to underestimation of the true incremental costs, since obesity is a risk factor for developing chronic conditions," said James P. Moriary and his fellow researchers. (Read more)
- Most Kentuckians Don't Think Insurance Rates Should Be Higher For The Obese, But Are Divided On Increasing Smokers' Rates
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News By a very small margin, Kentuckians think insurance rates should be higher for smokers if the insurance company provides a free smoking cessation program, but most don't think rates should be higher for those...
- Study Says Overweight Kids Become Overweight Teens
If a child is overweight in kindergarten, she probably will be in eighth grade, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And if your baby was heavy at birth, it has a greater chance of being fat. It found overweight kindergartners...
- Childhood Obesity Is Linked To More Immediate Health Problems Than Doctors Formerly Realized
While a plethora of research on childhood obesity has linked it to long-term health problems, a new UCLA study focuses on the condition's more proximate consequences, showing that obese children are at a greater risk for immediate health problems...
- Study: Smoke-free Workplace Leads To Fewer Heart Attacks
Mayo Clinic researchers have found a 33 percent drop in heart attack rates in a Minnesota county after public smoking bans were enacted. This, while rates of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity remained the same or even increased after...
- For First Time, Annual Health Costs For Families Exceed $20,000
For the first time, the average annual costs of workplace-provided health insurance and other costs for a family of four has exceeded $20,000, a new study has found. Costs are $20,728 this year, an increase of $1,335 over 2011. An average family...