Nutrition & Wellness – Biology 50

New Study Finds Obesity Costs Health Care $147 Billion a Year

August 31, 2009

More than a decade ago, in 1998, the medical costs due to obesity were estimated to be as high as $78.5 billion.  In a recent study, published in the July issue of Health Affairs the authors of the study now estimate the annual healthcare cost of obesity in the US now may be as high as $147 billion dollars a year.

The government-sponsored study was conducted by researchers at RTI International, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Key findings from the study on Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity: Payer- And Service-Specific Estimates were summarized in the article on Medical News Today. Lead author  Dr Eric Finkelstein and colleagues found:

• In 1998 the medical costs of obesity in the US were estimated at around 78.5 billion dollars a year, half of which was financed by Medicare and Medicaid.
• Between 1998 and 2006, the prevalence of obesity in the US went up by 37 per cent.
• This rise in obesity prevalence added 40 billion dollars to the annual healthcare bill for obesity.
• Obesity is now responsible for 9.1 per cent of annual medical costs compared with 6.5 per cent in 1998.
• The medical costs for an obese person are 42 per cent higher than for a person of normal weight.
• This equates to an additional 1,429 dollars per year: the costs for an obese person on Medicare are even greater.
• Much of the additional Medicare cost for an obese person are the result of the added prescription drug benefit.
• Medicare prescription drug payments for obese recipients are about 600 dollars a year more than for normal weight recipients.
• Obesity accounts for 8.5 per cet of Medicare expenditure, 11.8 per cent of Medicaid expenditure, and 12.9 per cent of private insurance expenditure.
• The annual healthcare costs of obesity could be as high as 147 billion dollars for 2008.

In looking at this information it isn’t hard to see how reducing the health cost due to obesity would significantly reduce our overall healthcare costs.

Focusing on keeping people healthy, keeping children from becoming obese adults, aggressively treating increases in weight gain and those who are in the overweight category would be cost effective ways of helping to reduce these staggering costs due to obesity.

Resources:

Paddock C. July 2009. Obesity Healthcare Costs US 147 Billion Dollars A Year, New Study. Medical News Today.

Finkelstein EA, Trogdon JG, Cohen JW. Dietz W. July 2009. “Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity: Payer- And Service-Specific Estimates.” Health Affairs , Web Exclusive, July 27, 2009

Image: Michal Zacharzewski.  Shadow Fat Man. Royalty Free Use.

Entry Filed under: Health, Health News, Media and Nutrition, Nutrition News, Weight Management. Tags: Obesity Campaign, Obesity Costs, Obesity Health Care Costs, Preventing Obesity, Rising Obesity Rates.