The Number One Health Problem in the United States

By Mark Ackerman, PA

The number one health problem in the US is debatable but considering things like high levels of mortality, mobility, economic impact, and prevalence, one of the leading options is the problem of obesity. To say that this is a “Huge” problem is really to understate the issue when all these categories are considered. But the main reason obesity is likely to be the worst health care problem is that it contributes to so many other medical problems that we struggle with. That is, obesity is a major risk factor for other significant problems such as heart disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, cancer, and major respiratory problems. It is estimated that obesity is actually a risk factor for over 60 different chronic medical problems.

Let’s consider some statistics: The prevalence of diabetes shows that this problem affects over 40% of Americans while 70% of the population is overweight based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) definitions. (Where a BMI of 25-29 is considered overweight, 30-39 is obese and a BMI of over 40 is severe obesity.)
Over 80% of patients with coronary heart disease are obese.
Over 40% of cancer is linked to being overweight or obese. There is an especially strong link with Breast, uterine, ovarian, Kidney and colon cancer.
More than 90% of patients with Type II Diabetes are overweight or obese.
About 73 % of patients with obstructive sleep apnea are overweight or obese; and this apnea gets progressively worse with additional weight gain.
In addition, the mortality for obesity alone dwarfs the numbers of people who die from other problems that we consider epidemic in this country. For example, in 2023 the estimates of deaths from obesity add up to 280,000 to 325,000 people. Comparatively:

The total number of deaths from drug overdoses in 2023 was 105,000 people.
The total number of deaths from Covid associated problems in 2023 was 76,000 people
The total number of deaths from homicide in 2023 (and in particular, gun violence) was 20,000 people.

Although several other medical conditions could be listed here, it is also important to point out the economic burdens of obesity. All things considered, obesity costs in excess of 1.4 trillion dollars per year in the United States.

Obesity is truly a silent killer and the problem with obesity, like all things, is multifactorial. It is not just simply due to gluttony as we all tend to think. There are genetic predispositions, intentionally addictive foods that are marketed to us and a society that is becoming progressively more sedentary. The challenge though is to learn how to manage our weight in order to not get trapped into the snare of acquiring multiple other diseases.