Impact of health on the economy

[jyb]

The US is known for its high obesity rate. I have always thought it was at odds with its aim to be a competitive and work oriented economy - Americans tend to work hard and long hours. Indeed, obesity is a sign of poor health, but can one work well or long hours while having poor health? I'll admit there's not necessarily a contradiction. I know plenty of people that are not in great shape physically, yet have a productive brain and have a good character at the workplace - it seems like the brain is not affected. I've even seen argued sometimes that the obesity rate wasn't impacting the health bills that much, though I have doubts about that.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...as-a-weight-problem-as-costs-of-obesity-mount

“The employee is most likely getting paid for it, but there was no work done on it, and there was a cost to the employer,” Andreyeva said. Diminished productivity is a major source of drag on the economy as it leads to higher production costs and a less competitive workforce, she said.

 

[Such_Saturation]

The US is known for its high obesity rate. I have always thought it was at odds with its aim to be a competitive and work oriented economy

In my opinion the issue is that half thinks that, and then another half believes in this:



So naturally there will arise inconsistencies, but just as well it seems that most jobs nowadays can be accomplished well even while being considered "obese". Of course it helps that everything is deemed a form of freedom and self-expression.