Obesity is More Expensive Problem Than We May Think: Sue Crane
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Sue Crane, controller of Saginaw Valley State University, speaks to the Torch Club about obesity.
Why would a CPA be concerned about obesity?
Well, because its an expensive matter for the kinds of organizations she audits.
And, because Sue Crane of Freeland struggles with her own weight problems, as many of us do.
Mrs. Crane spoke to the Torch Club at the Saginaw Club recently, just after the holiday season when the average person would probably have gained at least a pound or two.
"Obesity: There's More To It," she entitled her speech.
Causative factors include convenience food and a combination of environmental factors such as lack of activity, transportation, urban sprawl and the fact that fewer people work at physical jobs.
Mrs. Crane, controller of Saginaw Valley State University, has worked for Ernst & Young and Andrews, Hooper & Pavlik and became a leading expert on college and university auditing.
She cited frightening Center for Disease Control (CDC) statistics including the fact that 72 million adults, a third of the children and men and 35 percent of women, in the United States are obese.
Michigan is ninth on the list of states by percentage of population classified as obese at 28.6 percent, tied with Indiana. But obesity is a worldwide issue, she said.
"Do certain big businesses really want change?" she queried pointedly, motioning to places like MacDonald's and Burger King. Food portion sizes often exceed federal standards, she said.
Food corporations about 25 years ago experienced a need to add shareholder value, leading to a demand for higher short term profits by expanding sales in the marketplace.
Think of this next time you get on an airplane: it costs the airlines $275 million a year more in fuel each year because of obese passengers!
About $77 million a year is paid through Social Security Disability to 137,000 obese persons; and obesity is the largest cause of discharges from the military.
To combat the problem, SVSU has launched a new program entitled: "Prevention Makes Common Sense."
Health programs save up to $4.91 for every dollar spent, she said. Obesity costs an estimated 39.3 million workdays a year in lost time and 62.7 million physician office visits are concerned with obesity.
The condition adds about 36 percent to medical costs while the total cost to society is estimated a $123 billion a year and $59 billion in indirect costs.
"It takes a lifetime commitment to keep weight off," she says from experience.
Health risks from obesity include a variety of maladies including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
"This generation could be the first in America with a lower life expectancy than their parents," she said, noting that 44 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys are overweight, subject to binge eating or using weight control measures like purging or abusing laxatives.
Of the 9 million obese children in the U.S., 300,000 are in Michigan. TV and video games are part of the reason less than a third of the children engage in regular physical activity, she said. About 92 percent of elementary schools don't provide physical education.
Food is inexpensive and widely available, she noted, and the industry generates 3,900 calories a day per person, up from 3,200 a day since the 1970s. Stress leads to increased consumption of "comfort foods."
About 1,400 calories daily are recommended for women and 1,800 for men, plus 30 minutes of exercise, to keep fit and trim.
Artificial sweeteners that slow metabolism are prevalent in soft drinks, the consumption of which has doubled in recently years. Plus, 40 percent of food dollars are spent away from home where over consumption may be encouraged.
Mrs. Crane recommended a book by Kevin Trudeau, "the Weight Loss Cure They Don't Want You to Know About" and the website http://www.smallstep.gov of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.###
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