In 2000, the United States' estimated direct healthcare costs
attributable to sarcopenia [or age-related loss of muscle mass and
strength] were $18.5 billion-$10.8 billion in men, $7.7 billion in
women. These direct costs represent about 1.5% of total healthcare
expenditures for that year.
The medical costs of back pain in the United States now exceed $90
billion, with more than $26 billion of this amount going to direct
treatment of the condition, according to a new study.
Researchers at RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) estimate that U.S. obesity-attributable
medical expenditures reached $75 billion in 2003, and that
taxpayers finance about half these costs through Medicare and Medicaid.
Now,
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