Obesity now accounts for over 20% of health care spending in the U.S., according to a new study from Cornell University.  Previous research had calculated this figure to be just 9% more than half of what Cornell researchers calculated using a new method to determine the causal effects of obesity on health care costs.  They calculated the cost by treating the heritable component of weight as a natural experiment.  Previously, the cost had been determined using a simple calculation of the difference between the medical expenses of heavier and lighter people.  The researchers explain that this figure is misleading because obese and non-obese people are very different.  For instance, if someone suffers a back injury at work it may lead to weight gain.  The back injury could result in more medical costs that are not caused by the weight gain, but rather, by the initial injury.  Using the new method of calculation, the researchers found that an obese person's medical costs are $2,741 higher annually than that of a non-obese person.  This costs translates into almost 200 billion each year, which is approximately 21% of the total medical expenditures in the U.S.  Obesity is a risk factor for several health concerns, including stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and even certain types of cancer.  Additionally, obesity increases the costs of treating almost any medical condition and the costs pile up quickly.  A growing body of research is showing that for many obese people, bariatric surgery, such as the lap-band or gastric bypass may be the best treatment.  You can learn more about the comprehensive program and surgery options offered at the Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute.

Research has shown that obesity has a genetic component AND that poor sleep habits play a role in the development of obesity.  At the SLEEP 2011 Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, there was a presentation about a recent study providing further support that we should be getting more shut-eye.  The study found that sleeping less at night may increase the expression of genetic risks for obesity.  The study's finings revealed that lower Body Mass Index (BMI) was linked with longer stretches of sleep at night.  The researchers focused on heritability.  Heritability basically looks at how much variation between individuals is due to genetics, versus factors like environment.  One of the most interesting findings of the study was that when participants slept for only 7 consecutive hours, the heritability of BMI was more than twice as large as the heritability of BMI when participants got 9 uninterrupted hours of sleep.  This means that the heritability of body weight decreased as sleep duration increased.

The study was made up of 1,811 sets of twins with an average age of 37-years-old.  The researchers gathered the participants weight, height, and normal sleep habits through a survey.  The participants were on average categorized as slightly overweight, with an average BMI of 25.4 and on average slept 7 hours and 11 minutes each night.  The findings led the researchers to determine that not sleeping for long enough seems to increase expression of genes involved in regulating body size.

The team at the Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute finds this study interesting because since sleep duration is largely under our own control, it is potentially a modifiable risk factor for obesity.

So remember that getting a good amount of sleep at night is a great way to work towards better physical and mental health!