FHCE 3100 1nd Edition Exam 3 Study Guide FHCE 3100 Exam 3 Study Guide Food and the Consumer Current Issues and Controversies The Obesity Epidemic why do we care because when we retire it is our financial burden to bear most obesity costs are passed on to taxpayers definitions obesity body mass index of 30 or higher body mass index or BMI measure of an adult s weight in relation to his or her height specifically the adult s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters one expert places obesity related medical costs at around 190 billion dollars annually overall on average obese people spent 3271 per year more for medical care than did normal weight people by 2018 rising obesity will cost U S health care 344 bil per year obesity and medical costs nearly 21 of US medical costs can be blamed on obesity according to new research Cornell men and women obese men spend an additional 1152 per year in medical costs obese women spend additional 3613 per year in medical costs women suffer from obesity in different ways than men obesity has risen 34 since 1960 probably due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyles we live diseases and conditions caused by obesity hypertension type 2 diabetes coronary heart disease stroke gallbladder disease osteoarthritis sleep apnea cancers obesity and tax dollars obesity dollars being spent mainly through Medicare and Medicaid both are programs funded by tax dollars MediCARE is for the elderly and disabled MediCAID is for lower income individuals and families 1 45 of your paycheck is cut to be put toward Medicare children and obesity in just two decades prevalence of overweight kids more than doubled for U S children of ages 6 11 from 7 to 18 teens and obesity in 2 decades overweight teens quadrupled childhood obesity responsible for 14 billion in direct medical costs obesity in youth non hispanic whites 17 5 of men 14 7 of women are obese non hispanic blacks 22 6 of men 24 8 of women Mexican Americans 28 9 of men 18 6 of women diabetes poverty and obesity are all connected poverty influences the other two and their likelihoods of occurring obesity and work 164 billion the Society of Actuaries estimates that US employers ar losing this amount in productivity each year due to obesity related issues with employees 6 4 billion every year this amount is estimated to be lost due to employee absenteeism related to obesity to make up for these losses businesses charge more to consumers employers can now charge obese overweight employees addition 30 50 more for their health insurance IF the employee refuses to participate in a wellness program designed to lose weight Wells Fargo HQ in Minneapolis has gym in basement when employees use it the company rewards them by paying a larger percentage of their Medicare costs well can t you just lie about your eating wellness habits lying on health insurance forms is FRAUD one can be prosecuted and lose insurance obesity on the road vehicles that carry around obese overweight Americans burn almost an additional 1 billion gallons of gasoline every year that s nearly 1 of total gasoline usage obesity in the air U S airlines are consuming an extra 350 million gallons of fuel per year due to overweight passengers heavier passengers more fuel to get off the ground the airliners are not going to absorb this cost higher ticket fares where is obesity most prevalent in southeast midwest percentage of U S adults currently overweight or obese BMI greater than or equal to 25 69 obesity and college researchers discovered that UGA students are willing to grade overweight students work lower just because they are overweight Moorman and Wicks Smith Today s Consumption Behavior consumer choices are determined by tastes preferences habit convenience culture emotions values cost nutrition health benefits body image innovation marketing spending on food according to CE consumer spending on food dropped 10 between 1990 2000 declined an additional 5 between 2006 09 spending on food indicator of how healthy economy is also indicator of how healthy we are what are we buying with our food dollars medicine and higher insurance costs food spending and obesity low income families lack access to full service grocery stores and farmers markets in their neighborhoods healthy food is usually more pricey but refined grains and added sugars and fats are cheaper and readily available in low income communities 2002 study 200 neighborhoods 3 times as many supermarkets in wealthy neighborhoods as in poor neighborhoods 4 times as many in predominantly white areas as in mostly black areas households w limited resources to get enough food try to stretch their dollars by purchasing cheap and energy rich read sugar foods that are filling maximize calories per dollar less expensive and energy dense foods lower nutritional quality overconsumption of these obesity food choices with financial constraints lower income neighborhoods have fewer physical activity resources including fewer parks green spaces bike paths etc difficult to lead active lifestyle and families face crime traffic unsafe equipment annual food expenditure in 2013 126 96 per week 50 78 per person per week this falls in between low cost and moderate cost food plan according to USDA USDA s food plan national standard for a nutritious diet at low cost represents set of market baskets of food that people of specific age gender could consume to maintain healthy diet meeting dietary standards taking into account food consumption patterns of US households this plan determines who is poor in the US assumes that of income is spent on food and of income is spent on vehicles houses how much is a fair amount to be spending on food food and beverage consumption spending on food low income families spend higher proportion on food than higher income families higher income families spend more in dollar amounts but not in proportion rising food prices and sales taxes on food have greater impact on lower income families than high income families Food Poverty and the US Sheldon Danziger director of National Poverty Center at UMichigan said USA is exceptional in tolerance of poverty some facts UNICEF 30 million children in 35 of world s richest countries live in poverty US ranks 2nd in that list on the scale of relative child poverty relative child poverty refers to child living in household wehre disposable income is less than half of the national median income only Romania ranks higher with 25