Health experts brief US congressional staff members on ways to reduce chronic disease

Description according to the original source: US companies are beginning to look at local rates of obesity when they consider where to locate and expand their business activities. They use the data as a marker for future medical costs they might incur, said James Marks, a senior vice president with the charity the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Treating chronic diseases consumes an estimated 75% of all US healthcare spending.

Dr Marks was speaking at a briefing on Capitol Hill on 10 June aimed at educating congressional staff members on the connections between non-medical policies and chronic disease. He noted that, for the first time, US healthcare reform legislation passed in 2010 included prevention and non-medical interventions in a meaningful way.

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