And We Keep Getting Fatter
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine states that 57% of the nation’s children and teens will be obese by age 35 if current trends continue. Currently, the adult obesity rate is at a record 39.8%. The rate in children and teens is 18.5%. How can we control healthcare costs if we cannot control this HUGE issue? I am not trying to fat shame. I am just being pragmatic. Add to this that half of all Americans are healthcare illiterate and the fact that we doctors really don’t have great ways to keep people slim and you have a catastrophe coming.
What is health literacy, I asked myself. “Health literacy is the use of a wide range of skills that improve the ability of people to act on information in order to live healthier lives. These skills include reading, writing, listening, speaking, numeracy, and critical analysis, as well as communication and interaction skills.”
Um, isn’t his just, “Literacy?”
Now just imagine being reimbursed according to your patients level of obesity.