14 DAY TRIAL // Over the past years, policies to curve people's rights to do whatever they want with their bodies have been set in place in the United States. Anti-smoking campaigns and various smoking bans have made many Americans quit the habit, but a new research suggests that the increase the public health regulators were expecting did not take place. In fact, statistics show that the number of healthy citizens is continuously declining, ScienceNow reports. It would appear that obesity is making all public health-related plans fail, experts say.
In the past 15 years, the number of smokers in the US has decreased by more than 20 percent, a fact that was hailed as a victory by many healthcare experts and policymakers. However, in the same time span, obesity has increased by 48 percent, with much of the country's population currently struggling with the demands and dangers that being overweight includes. About 60 percent of individuals deal with this issue, which stems from an unhealthy, yet-glorified lifestyle. The people, in essence, appear to be losing any trace of responsibility in taking care of themselves.
It is estimated that, over the next ten years, the public dangers posed by obesity will completely overshadow the health advantages gained from successful anti-smoking campaigns. The national health surveys that were used to draw this conclusion offer a view back in time to as far as 1971, and cover hundreds of thousands of people, not just a small sample of the population. By 2020, the study reveals, teenagers no older than 18 will lose 0.71 years (260 days) of life and 0.91 years (332 days) of quality of life on account of obesity. The results were obtained by analyzing data collected between 1990 and 2005, and then extrapolating it into the next decade.
Details of the investigation appear in the December 2 issue of the respected New England Journal of Medicine. Experts reveal that it's still probably worse to smoke than be obese, but only from a certain point of view. Nicotine acts faster on the health, and its effects are visible within a few years. Obesity, on the other hand, acts slower, but with more devastating consequences – such as increased heart-attack risks and diabetes. From a national perspective, the fact that the number of obese people increases constantly means that the general state of health is deteriorating. Things are made even worse by the fact that not many Americans see their excessive weight as a problem.