| Abstrakt: |
Obesity is a growing epidemic and holds significant health and economic consequences [1]-[3]. It has been shown to dramatically increase the risk of other diseases including type II diabetes, serious cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions such as coronary artery disease, and stroke. In addition, obesity directly correlates with mortality and can decrease life expectancy by nearly two decades [4]. The economic ramifications of obesity are also profound [5, 6]. One study reported that $93 billion of health care expenditure in the USA was allocated to obesity-related illnesses. Between the periods of 1987 and 2001, there was a 27% rise in inflation-adjusted per capita spending for obesity-correlated disease in the USA 5. While first originating in the USA as a medical epidemic, obesity has also risen sharply in other parts of the world, including Europe, Russia and Latin America. In the last fifteen years, the prevalence of obesity has tripled in England and Wales and has risen by 20% in Eastern Europe [7, 8]. The International Obesity Task Force considers obesity to be a global epidemic, and estimates 300 million people around the world are obese [9]. The significance of obesity in health care cannot be overemphasized — obesity has dictated the way in which health care providers manage and strategize their treatment to this unique patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
