Most of us, by now, are familiar with the ways our health-care system is broken.
Lawyers are milking the system. The medical community doesn’t do enough to get rid of bad doctors. Drug companies need to be regulated. The federal government either can’t or won’t fix Medicare and Medicaid.
But how many of us consider pointing a finger at ourselves? How many of us should be doing more, much more, to adopt healthier lifestyles by eating less and exercising more? How many of us are willing to admit that we’re part of the problem?
The results of a 16-year study by the American Cancer Society, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, conclude with more certainty than ever that being overweight can lead to a variety of cancers. Researchers evaluated 900,000 people, and their findings indicate that losing weight could prevent one in six cancer deaths in the United States — some 90,000 each year.
We’ve long known of other dire health consequences that can come from carrying too much weight — such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes — and now the cancer link is clearer than ever. Dr. Donna Ryan, head of clinical research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., said of the study, "It’s absolutely convincing. And therefore it’s frightening."
Perhaps most frightening is that obesity among teens continues to climb — the percentage of overweight children in the United States has doubled in the past 35 years. Studies show that 70 percent of overweight kids aged 10 to 13 years will be overweight as adults. Clearly, not enough is being done to educate children about the dangers of obesity, or to help them develop strategies for living healthy lives.
When the link between smoking and cancer was acknowledged decades ago, a national campaign was launched to get people to quit. Evidence that obesity is one of our most critical public health problems should trigger similar alarm. And we should start now, because there are plenty of unhealthy messages to overcome — from ads for fat-laden fast food to video games that keep kids from moving much more than their thumbs.
In the meantime, most parents can no doubt set a better example for their kids, getting more exercise and making healthier food choices. It’s a recipe for a better life.
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