Fat America - The Cost of Obesity to our Nation
Statistics on Obesity-Related Health Problems and Expenditure
Oct 9, 2009
The Center for Disease Control estimates that more than one-third of U.S. adults (72 million) were obese (BMI > 30) in 2005–2006. This includes 33.3% of men and 35.3% of women. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates that the average American is now 23 pounds overweight and collectively we are 4.6 billion pounds overweight.
Is Obesity a Pandemic?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the adjective "pandemic" as "occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population." Given the statistics, it is not hyperbole to describe obesity in the US as a pandemic.
Obesity and Health
Obesity appears to lessen life expectancy markedly,especially among younger adults. (jama Vol. 289 No. 2, January 8, 2003, Kevin R. Fontaine Phd et al.) Experts believe that obesity is responsible for more ill health even than smoking. Being significantly overweight is , or may be, linked to a wide range of health problems, including:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- Indigestion
- Gallstones
- Some cancers (esophageal, breast, prostate)
- Snoring and sleep apnoea
- Stress, anxiety, and depression
Direct Cost of Obesity
In an article in the Wall Street Journal (July 28th, 2009), Betsy McKay writes that "The medical costs of treating obesity-related diseases may have soared as high as $147 billion in 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday, as its new director set a fresh tone in favor of more aggressively attacking obesity.
The cost of treating obesity doubled over a decade, signaling the rising prevalence of excess weight and the toll it is taking on the health-care system. The medical costs of obesity were estimated to be $74 billion in 1998, according to a study by federal government researchers and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C."
The study also found that obese people spent $1,429, around 42%, more than people of normal weight on medical costs in 2006, with prescription drugs accounting for the majority of the increase. RTI's director, Eric A. Finkelstein, said that "The medical costs attributable to obesity are almost entirely a result of costs generated from treating the diseases obesity promotes."
Indirect Obesity Costs
According to a report published in the September/October 2005 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, obesity in American workers cost more than $42 billion per year in health-related lost productive time. Obese employees have much higher weight-related medical expenses and miss more work than their colleagues who maintain a healthy weight.
- The price of obesity at a company with 1,000 people on staff is about $285,000 a year in medical costs and absenteeism. Roughly 30% of that cost comes from increased absences among overweight employees.
- Normal weight men miss an average of three work days a year, compared with five days for men who are 60 or more pounds over a healthy weight.
- Normal-weight women miss about 3.4 days a year as compared to 5.2 days for women who are obese, that is 30 to 60 pounds overweight, and 8.2 days for extremely obese, 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight.
- The average medical expenditure for a normal weight man is $1,351 a year. Men who are 30 to 60 pounds overweight cost $462 more based on added medical costs and absenteeism. Extremely obese men cost $2,027 a year more.
- Average medical expenditures for normal-weight men are $1,956. Women who are 30 to 60 pounds overweight cost $1,372 more when medical costs and missed work are included. Women who weigh 60 to 100 pounds too much cost $2,485 more.
The higher expenses are absorbed by all employees who end up paying higher health-care premiums; by businesses if they have to hire replacement workers or pick up a larger share of insurance costs; and by obese employees if they aren't paid for their time off.
The American Obesity Association continues to urge the Government and private employers to give more attention to problems of people who are overweight.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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