For regular readers of this blog, I have disappointing news. The Diabetes Blog is now retired. That means that, while it will still be available for reading and searching, new posts will not be added. Our Cardio and Cancer blogs are also being retired, which I mention here because some readers bookmarked more than one of the Life Sciences group.
The choice to stop publishing these three blogs is a business decision, and has nothing whatsoever to do with their quality. I am, and everyone here is, deeply grateful to the bloggers whose dedication to these sites gave so much information and inspiration to thousands of people. These three blogs are among the longest-running properties in our network, and it is sad to let them go.
Thank you to our many readers for visiting us, and sharing in the community here.
Brad Hill
Programming Director, Weblogs / AOL
Bloomberg reports that obesity and smoking add $100 billion annually to health care costs in the US. The obesity rate in the US is 33% compared to 17% in Europe. Health policy makers can't rein in medical costs in the U.S. unless they reverse obesity trends, said lead researcher Kenneth Thorpe, an Emory professor of health policy.
Obesity threatens to reverse the years of gains in improved health and life expectancy that the US has been enjoying over the last several decades. It also threatens the solvency of the health care system. The huge difference in obesity rates between the US and Europe are a ready refutation of the theory that individuals cant control their weight, or that it is genetically determined.