If all the young people in the U.S. who are currently obese maintain that status throughout their adult life, the societal cost will be more than one trillion dollars.
That's what a Brookings Institute study projected when it researched the various costs associated with obesity. While much of that cost can be attributed to additional health care expenses obese people incur, a good chunk of it is also related to the non-health insurance price businesses pay for having overweight employees.
The study, which exhaustively examines data related to obesity, said its formula shows that per person, the cost to society of an obese person is $92,000 greater than for someone who isn't obese. Using that estimate, it projected the cost over the lives of the 12.7 million obese youths in the U.S. to arrive at the final number.
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The cost to business is extracted in increased absenteeism, increased "presenteeism" (where people show up for work but underperform), disability claims, and overall lower productivity.
It also opined that, because obesity is becoming more common, the cost estimate may be conservative. And, Brookings said, the earlier deaths that many obese people experience do not offset the cost.
Its conclusion: "There are substantial societal costs of high obesity rates in the United States, including productivity costs in the workplace and disability claims costs. Even if lifetime costs of obesity, such as health care, can be contained, the increase in the number of Americans with obesity foreshadows substantial societal costs. Our model indicates that increased costs of obesity is not offset by the relationship of obesity with higher mortality. Focusing on obesity-related mortality may obscure issues related to increased morbidity."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
