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What Is The Cost of Obesity in United States?
 

A person is said to be obese when his or her body mass index (BMI) exceeds 30. BMI is a measure used to determine whether a person is underweight, overweight or obese. It compares a person’s weight and height and is calculated by dividing his or her weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters. So, if a person of 5 feet 5 inches tall (165cm) will become obese when his or her weight reaches 180 pounds (82 kg).

Strictly speaking, obesity itself might not be considered as a sickness. However, obese people have a very high tendency of developing many other serious medical disorders ranging from Type-2 diabetes to hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, and even certain types of cancer. Moreover, studies have also showed that obesity could shorten one’s life.

In the United States, two-third of adults and about 20 percent of children are overweight or obese. The rising rate of obesity has worried many health experts that it will definitely have a profound effect on the health and healthcare spending.

According to a study presented on July 27, 2009 at a news conference at a CDC (United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) obesity meeting, the obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of all medical spending in the United States or an estimated US$147 billion a year.

Researchers from the non-profit RTI International, CDC and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality analyzed medical cost data from 1998 and 2006. They found the obesity rates in the United States rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, which caused an 89 percent increase in spending on treatments for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

The findings, which were also published in the journal Health Affairs, showed that the total cost of obesity increased from US$74 billion in 1998 to as high as US$147 billion today.

Obesity now accounts for 9.1 percent of all medical spending in the United States, as compared with 6.5 percent in 1998. On the other hand, an obese Medicare beneficiary spends US$600 more a year on drug costs than a Medicare patient of healthy weight.

The bulk of the obesity-related medical spending is used to treat diseases like diabetes that are caused by obesity rather than used for clinical procedures such as bariatric surgery. Most of the diabetes in the Untied States is caused by excess weight and the overall cost of treating diabetes is US$191 billion a year.

Obesity is certainly very costly. According to a report issued earlier in July 2009, obesity could account for 1 in 6 dollars spent on health care by 2030. It seems that the only way to cut down the health expenditures in the future is through efforts to reduce obesity and related health conditions. To achieve this, most experts feel it is necessary for the Americans to alter their lifestyle, which is believed to be responsible for arousing the obesity epidemic.

Research has shown that the average American is now 23 pounds (11 kilos) overweight, and about half of the extra 350 calories a day that they consume come from sodas and other sugary drinks. Such data has prompted CDC and many other health experts to suggest tax on sugary soft drinks to fight obesity.

Children spend most of their time sitting in front of the television and computer. Data showed that 65 percent of American children have a television in their bedroom. As such, many health professionals and experts have urged parents to persuade their children to get our of their bedrooms and perform more physical exercises.

In order to curb the rising obesity rates and related medical costs, CDC officials outlined 24 new steps ranging from banning television from children’s bedroom to providing easier way for people to buy fresh food.

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