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First-Ever Report on the Individual Cost of
Obesity unveiled
Newswise, September 2010 — The George
Washington University School of Public
Health and Health Services’ Department of
Health Policy today released a report that,
for the first time, calculated the
startlingly high individual costs of obesity
to Americans.
The report, “A Heavy Burden: The Individual
Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the
United States,” authored by Avi Dor,
Professor and Director of Health Economics
Program at The George Washington University,
and colleagues used a series of measures
including indirect costs, lost productivity,
and direct costs, such as obesity-related
medical expenditures, to estimate the price
tag of obesity at the individual level.
The authors concluded that the individual
cost of being obese is $4,879 and $2,646 for
women and men respectively, and adding the
value of lost life to these annual costs
produces even more dramatic results: $8,365
and $6,518 annually for women and men,
respectively.
The analysis demonstrates costs are nine
times higher for women and six times higher
for men who are obese, which is defined as
an individual with a Body Mass Index (BMI)
more than 30, than for an overweight person,
which is defined as someone with a BMI
between 25-29.
The findings also reveal a significant
difference between the impact of obesity on
men and women when it comes to job-related
costs, including lost wages, absenteeism and
disability.
The report suggests that these estimates may
understate total costs. Dr. Dor noted that,
“existing literature provides information on
health- and work-related costs, but with the
exception of fuel costs, no published
academic research offers insight into
consumer-related costs, such as clothing,
air travel, automobile size or furniture.
Anecdotal evidence suggests these costs
could be significant.”
“These data, coupled with the
widely-reported costs of obesity to society,
continue to highlight the enormous overall
financial impact of this epidemic,” said
Christine Ferguson, J.D., Professor of
Health Policy. “Being able to quantify the
individual’s economic burden of excess
weight may give new urgency to public policy
discussions regarding solutions for the
obesity epidemic.”
The key findings of the report shed new
light on recent statistics on the annual
health care costs associated with the
obesity epidemic. Health care costs are now
estimated at $147 billion annually,
representing nearly 10 percent of all U.S.
medical expenses.
By 2030, the health care costs attributable
to the overweight and obese could account
for up to 16 to 18 percent of total U.S.
health care costs.
“The data demonstrate that an individual
affected by obesity faces not only high
medical-related costs, but also higher
non-medical costs, including lost wages due
to disability and premature mortality,” said
Joe Nadglowski, President and Chief
Executive Officer of the Obesity Action
Coalition.
“Given the increasing obesity rates, this
report underscores the critical need for a
new and more aggressive approach to obesity
that considers both prevention and treatment
for those 93 million Americans who are
already obese.”
The report was presented at a panel
discussion – moderated by 16th U.S. Surgeon
General, David Satcher, MD, PhD, FAAFP,
FACPM, FACP – featuring an esteemed group of
experts on obesity including William Dietz,
MD, PhD, Director of the Division of
Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Joseph Nadglowski, Jr.,
President/Chief Executive Officer of the
Obesity Action Coalition, Christine
Ferguson, JD, Professor at The George
Washington University School of Public
Health and Health Services, and Chaz Merkel,
of Seminole, FL, who shared his experience
as an obese individual and how he found
treatment for obesity, losing 215 pounds
after undergoing a weight-loss surgery
procedure known as gastric banding. A
webcast of the panel discussion is available
at http://www.dcwebcasting.com/gwu/.
A copy of the full report titled, “A Heavy
Burden: The Individual Costs of Being
Overweight and Obese in the United States”
is available at:http://www.gwumc.edu/sphhs/departments/healthpolicy/pdf/HeavyBurdenReport.pdf
About The George Washington University
Medical Center
The George Washington University Medical
Center is an internationally recognized
interdisciplinary academic health center
that has consistently provided high-quality
medical care in the Washington, D.C.
metropolitan area since 1824. The Medical
Center comprises the School of Medicine and
Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical
school in the country; the School of
Nursing; the School of Public Health and
Health Services, the only such school in the
nation’s capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned
and operated by a partnership between The
George Washington University and a
subsidiary of Universal Health Services,
Inc.; and The GW Medical Faculty Associates,
an independent medical practice with nearly
550 physicians in 47 clinical specialties.
For more information on GWUMC, visit www.gwumc.edu
The report was made possible by a donation
provided by Allergan, Inc., as part of its
C.H.O.I.C.E. (Choosing Health over Obesity
Inspiring Change through Empowerment)
Campaign.
