Did you know that obesity is on the verge of surpassing smoking as the number one cause of preventable death in America? We care about your state of health and want to encourage you to take steps toward a healthier lifestyle. If you are not within a healthy weight range, some of the following facts may help you realize that now is the time to turn that around.

Overweight and Obesity Cost Facts*

• The total cost of overweight and obesity in the United States is $117 billion (comparable to the economic costs of cigarette smoking).
• The direct cost of heart disease related to overweight and obesity is $8.8 billion (17 percent of the total direct cost of heart disease, independent of stroke).
• The total cost of type-2 diabetes related to overweight and obesity is $98 billion.
  

Other Overweight and Obesity Facts

• Approximately 127 million adults in the United States are overweight, 60 million are obese, and 9 million are severely obese.
• Obesity increases the risk of illness for about 30 serious medical conditions, including Type-2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure.
• A decrease in the amount of daily physical activity related to work, transportation and personal chores is believed to contribute to the high percentage of overweight and obesity today.
• Moderate physical activity, progressing to 60 minutes or more on most days of the week, is recommended for weight loss.**
• Physical activity is reported in Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to be a key part of maintaining weight loss.
  

UPSer's and their spouses can take a health assessment that offers an in-depth assessment of your lifestyle and factors that impact your health status. This will give you an opportunity to see your health in a big picture. Doing so can help you prioritize the kinds of health changes you may need to consider, and which health changes you may be ready and confident to make.

Click here for more information on the Health Assessment.

Source: *American Obesity Association website, 2005
**American Heart Association website, 2005