A U.S. adult who is "healthy" but obese could
eventually cost society tens of thousands of dollars in medical care and lost
wages, a new study estimates.
Using a computer model, researchers estimated the financial
toll that obesity typically takes at different ages. They found, for example,
that an obese 50-year-old with normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels
will end up costing society more than $36,000.
That societal figure included people's direct medical care
for obesity-related diseases, along with lost productivity from disability or
time off from work.
The researchers said the findings offer a look at how
obesity affects individuals, and society.
"When folks struggle with their weight, it ends up
affecting everyone," said senior researcher Dr. Bruce Lee. He's an
associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in
Baltimore.
Because obesity contributes to a range of chronic health
conditions -- such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers -- it
ultimately raises everyone's health insurance premiums, Lee said.
Of course, he added, the costs hit the individual, too.
"You're paying the insurance premium and the
copays," Lee said. "And if your productivity is reduced, that affects
your wallet, too."
On the other hand, Lee's team found, weight loss could bring
big cost savings.
The researchers estimated that if an obese 20-year-old shed
enough pounds to drop to the overweight category, almost two-thirds of his
lifetime costs to society could be avoided.
Plus, Lee said, there are benefits to losing weight well
beyond age 20. If a healthy but obese 70-year-old crossed to the overweight
category, her lifetime costs could be cut by about 40 percent, the study found.
"So weight loss is cost-saving at any age," Lee
said.
In the United States, it's estimated that two-thirds of
adults are obese or overweight.
Ted Kyle is a spokesperson for the Obesity Society and
founder of ConscienHealth, which advocates for "evidence-based
approaches" to addressing obesity.
"This study really documents the costs of untreated
obesity -- which is the norm in this country," said Kyle, who was not
involved in the research.
He said that Americans who are struggling with their weight
usually just get "casual advice" from their doctors to eat better and
exercise.
"I think it's safe to say that most people do not get
the kind of help that research has shown to be effective," Kyle said.
As an example, he pointed to the Diabetes Prevention
Program, which involves "intensive" counseling on diet, exercise and
behavior modification. A large U.S. government study found that the program
slashed the risk of type 2 diabetes among overweight, at-risk adults -- after
only a modest amount of weight loss.
The program is now widely available, Kyle said, including at
local YMCAs. Still, many people do not know about it.
"It's a good place to start," he said.
The "casual advice" route is unlikely to cut it,
according to Kyle. "Because guess what?" he said. "It has
already occurred to most people that they need to change their diet and
exercise."
What many obese people need, Kyle said, is more intensive
help with changing "deeply entrenched bad habits."
Lee agreed that losing weight is a major challenge.
"And the biggest challenge is, of course, that you want permanent weight
loss, not yo-yo dieting," he said.
"There are no overnight solutions," Lee said.
"It takes long-term changes in diet and physical activity. And for some
people, medication or surgery are appropriate."
For the study, Lee and colleagues used a computer model to
estimate the lifetime medical costs and lost productivity of obese individuals
at different ages. They pulled data from several large U.S. health studies to
gauge people's odds of developing various diseases over a lifetime.
Overall, the study found, people who were currently healthy
but obese could eventually cost society anywhere from about $17,000 to just
over $36,000 -- depending on their age. (Fifty-year-olds cost the most, while
80-year-olds cost the least.)
"This is an important study," Kyle said. "It
shows just how costly obesity can be if it's untreated. It's not about weight
and appearance. It's about your health."
The findings appear in the October issue of the journal
Obesity.
