Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/808716
TRE ATING OBESIT Y AND DIABE TES CONSUMES BILLIONS OF U.S. HE ALTHCARE DOLL ARS E ACH YE AR. RESE ARCH INDICATES BARIATRIC SURGERY CAN PL AY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN ADDRESSING THOSE HE ALTH ISSUES. Confronting an Epidemic A HIGH TOLL Total direct and indirect costs of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. are estimated at $245 billion annually. That represents: $176 billion in medical costs $69 billion in lower productivity A meta- analysis of 621…studies involving approximately 135,000 patients found that of the 22% of patients who had Type…2 diabetes: Approximately 5.5 million American adults had a diagnosis of diabetes in 1980. By 2014, that had risen to 21.9 million. about 78% experienced complete resolution of manifestations of diabetes following bariatric surgery approximately 87% saw resolution or improvement significant decreases occurred in insulin levels and hemoglobin A1c ABOUTŽFACE Geography may not be destiny, but adult obesity is more concentrated in the South. 10 20 30 40 STATE OF THE STATES States with the highest obesity rates Sources: Trust for America's Health/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The American Journal of Medicine, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, CDC, American Diabetes Association ARK ANSAS: 35.9% WEST VIRGINIA: 35.7% MISSISSIPPI: 35.5% LOUISIANA: 34.9% ALABAMA: 33.5% States with the lowest obesity rates COLORADO: 21.3% HAWAII: 22.1% MASSACHUSETTS: 23.3% CALIFORNIA: 24.7% VERMONT: 24.8% More than 8 MILLION AMERICANS are believed to have undiagnosed diabetes. BY STEVE BARRETT 1 6 1 6D A T A V A U LT