Obese people cost society an estimated additional $92,000 during their lifetimes, and the source of the costs might surprise you.
If all 12.7 million American youths with obesity became obese adults, the costs to society could exceed $1.1 trillion over their lifetimes, according to a study released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution.
The study found that in addition to higher healthcare costs, several factors result in society footing a bill of $92,235 more than a normal person during their lifetime. Those include a loss of productivity and costs for short-term disability.
Brookings reviewed completed studies and extrapolated the costs for obesity. It examined 1,000 people between 20 and 24 years old with a range of body mass indices.
The think tank also concluded that the increased costs for obesity aren’t offset by the higher mortality rate of obese people.
There are some caveats, including that the researchers looked at only one generation of obese people.
The study also did not take into account emerging research on factors such as life insurance costs.
Public health officials have sounded the alarm for years over obesity, with officials even going so far as to call it an epidemic. Studies have shown 78.6 million Americans are obese, and the estimated annual medical cost of obesity was $147 billion in 2008.
However, it appears that parts of the U.S. population may be starting to listen and shifting toward healthier habits, one expert said.
“There have been major changes in food consumption at the national level,” said William Dietz, a professor at George Washington University, during a panel discussion on the study Tuesday.
Dietz noted Americans are eating less fast food and pizza and drinking fewer sugary drinks,though he declined to elaborate on how sharp of a decrease.
Major brands are starting to listen to customers call for healthier and nontoxic options. Kraft Foods, for example, decided to eliminate the artificial colors that make the bright orange color in its popular macaroni and cheese, and Panera is getting rid of additives.
“Healthy food is getting more palatable and that helps as well,” Anand Parekh, deputy assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said at the Brookings event.
Parekh emphasized work the agency is doing to help combat obesity, such as first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative, which is in its fifth year.
Still, even though Americans are largely eating healthier and the federal government is making it a priority, obesity is still a massive public health problem, Dietz said.
“We haven’t yet turned the corner.”
