by increasing the food insecure population.
The evaluation of this policy decision should be of interest to policy-
makers, public health officials, and clinicians. Preventing excess coronary heart disease, gallstones, osteoarthritis, hypertension, and diabetes through the prevention of weight gain, particularly among the Medicaid dependent, is a cost-effective strategy for the United States. We expect that policies aimed to educate citizens about nutrition, to increase fresh food and grocery stores accessibility in low-income areas and to reduce food insecurities would create a healthier population and decrease healthcare costs. However, without the support of this study, our policy proposals have no legitimacy. Discussions of cost cutting can no longer be divorced from discussions of policy effectiveness, as they all-too-often result in measures that are counterproductive and cruel.
In the wake of domestic budget cuts and our continuing economic
difficulties, reversal of these cuts seem unlikely. In an effort to combat the long-term effects, we would suggest the implementation of preventative programs. According to Wang et al (2003), preventative programs set in place in elementary schools encouraged healthier eating habits, thus lowering the risks of contracting an obesity related disease. They found that allocation of public resources was a cost-effective plan and would advise federal and state level lawmakers to do so. Programs designed to prevent obesity-related disease are less costly, in economic and human terms, than simply treating the diseases once they occur.
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