More Americans Getting Chronically Ill...

   and this would be nothing new since we have gotten physically lazy and we don't eat right. I also happen to think that many of our chronic illnesses are coming by way of all of the additives which we have in our foods, among other things.

  (Reuters) — More Americans are burdened by chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure, often having more than three at a time, and this has helped fuel a big rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses, a study released on Tuesday showed.

The rise in Americans with multiple chronic illnesses comes as obesity and sedentary lifestyles have grown more common. Obesity contributes to many chronic ailments including diabetes. U.S. health officials say the rate of new cases of diabetes soared by about 90 percent in the past decade.

  Look at the jump in Americans with three or more chronic illnesses. This isn't a pretty picture.

    It jumped from 13 percent in 1996 to 22 percent in 2005 for ages 45 to 64, to 45 percent for ages 65 to 79, and rose from 38 percent to 54 percent for those 80 and older. Among all ages, it went from 7 percent in 1996 to 13 percent in 2005.

Chronic disease accounts for three-fourths of the more than $2 trillion spent on health care yearly in the United States.

The chronic disease increase was seen not just among the very oldest age groups but also in middle age and early old age -- regardless of sex, race, ethnicity and income level.

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