weight loss news
Obesity Is Taxing Health and Wallets
Mpls., MN January 23, 2004: Obesity cost taxpayers $39 billion in 2003 according to groundbreaking
research sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in the January
23, 2004, issue of Obesity Research. The study was authored by leading health care economists and is the first
of its kind to document obesity-related health care expenditures on a state-by-state basis, including
those from Medicare and Medicaid. These estimates will help policy-makers determine the best way to allocate
scarce public health resources and provide information about obesity's economic impact on individual states.
Data consistently show that the incidence of obesity and the cost of treating obesity and its related
conditions continue to rise. Results from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES) indicate that approximately 64% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. This is alarming
both in terms of obesity's impact on quality of life as well as health care economics. Obesity has been
linked to 41 chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancer,
as well as joint and skeletal disorders. As a consequence of these and other weight-driven conditions, the cost
of providing health care to obese adults is 36% higher than it is for healthy-weight adults.
From a national perspective, the cost of obesity is enormous. In 2003 dollars, Americans are spending about $75
billion per year to treat obesity-related medical conditions. Medicare and Medicaid paid approximately half of these costs,
creating a significant burden on government funds and the taxpayers who provide them. Self-reported obesity prevalence among
adult Medicaid recipients is roughly 50% higher than that for the general population. As a result, the percentage of Medicaid
dollars that are spent treating obesity-related medical conditions in adults (11%) is nearly double the percentage spent by
non-Medicaid recipients.
Although the Obesity Research study focused on the financial burden of obesity on states,
all sectors of the economy should be concerned about the medical and financial implications of obesity.
The fact that the government (and ultimately the taxpayer) is responsible for financing roughly half of
obesity-related medical expenditures should strengthen the need for government interventions to reduce obesity rates.
If left unchecked, many experts fear obesity rates will continue to climb and so will the cost to taxpayers.
According to the study's authors, the remedies include devoting significantly more public health resources to obesity treatment
and prevention, as well as increasing private insurance reimbursement for obesity therapy.
The OPTIFAST® Medical Weight Loss Program can help your community control health care costs.
If you would like more information about providing OPTIFAST treatment in your area, click here.
If you are interested in reducing your own weight, Click here to find an OPTIFAST Clinic near you.