Giving Compass' Take:

• Public health, government, and education industries could be doing more to help decrease obesity rates in the United States. 

• One suggestion the author discusses is the role of schools in teaching students from an early age how to deal with stress and develop good eating habits. How are current education policies supporting healthier practices for students to lower risk of obesity? 

• Read more about why obesity rates continue to climb. 

Years into the obesity epidemic, millions of Americans have tried to lose weight, and millions of them have failed to do so long term. It’s so serious now that close to 40 percent of Americans are obese. The average woman in the United States today weighs about 168 pounds, or roughly the same as an average man in 1960.

Now, despite people’s concerted efforts, obesity is at its highest level ever, with about 40 percent of U.S. adults and 18.5 percent of children, considered obese. This is itself an increase of about 30 percent, just since 2000 when roughly 30 percent of American adults were obese.

Obesity, defined as a body mass index of at least 30, is about far more than vanity. It impairs quality of life and exacerbates health risks involving many medical conditions in children and adults. Obese people incur more medical costs, live shorter lives and miss more work than their thinner counterparts.

Obesity’s roots are in American culture, from the stress of the workplace to the onslaught of food advertising, to our tradition of holiday overindulgence. The taste buds of our youth are raised on junk food and sugary treats, habits that follow children into adulthood.

Clearly, our country needs a greater systematic effort in the realms of public health, the government and industry. Schools could play a role. Students should receive additional education in schools on good eating habits and how to control stress. Additionally, health care insurers need to be more willing to pay upfront to manage obesity before it becomes a much more expensive disease to treat. Given the structure of health insurance now, physicians simply cannot spend the time needed with patients to properly communicate and educate.

Read the full article about obesity rates by Kenneth Cusi at The Conversation.