The bill for obesity: nearly 10% of all medical spending

photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Medical spending on obesity-related health conditions has doubled in the past 10 years and now accounts for 9.1% of all money spent on health care, according to a new study published today by Health Affairs.

That’s up from 6.5% in 1998. The obesity rate–the percentage of Americans with a body mass index over 30–is now more than 25% of adults in America, up from 18.3% a decade ago. (You can calculate your BMI here.)

The study reports that per-person medical spending for obese people was 42% higher than for someone of normal weight, which means an extra expense of $1,429 per obese person per year. Obesity-related medical spending accounted for 8.5% of Medicare (the program for people over 65) and 11.8% of Medicaid (the health program for the poor).

And the money typically isn’t going for high-cost treatments like bariatric (stomach-stapling) surgery. Almost all of the obesity-related spending in both public and private sectors is tied to costs generated from obesity-related diseases, like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The study’s authors say that lawmakers need to focus on ways to reduce obesity if they’re serious about containing health care costs.

As individuals, we need to get serious about our weight as well if we want to live longer, healthier, happier and more prosperous lives. Make today the day you start. Weight Watchers can cost you less than $10 a week, while 12-step-based programs like Overeaters Anonymous are free.

For more MSN articles on the connection between body weight and money, read:

• What if nobody were fat?
• What does it cost to drop 30 pounds?
• Will the recession make you fat?