A report was recently released by the College of Public Health at George Washington University detailing the cost of obesity for both men and women (full version available here) . There were some surprising stats revealed. The authors concluded that the cost of being obese (defined in this study as BMI>30) is $4879 per year for men and $2646 per year for women, six to nine times higher than the health and work related costs of those with a BMI of less than 30. This does not even take consumer costs such as larger clothing, food, over-the-counter medicines, etc. into consideration.
This study serves to underscore the need for a holistic approach to treat obesity at all levels. Hopefully, it will push insurance companies, primary care physicians, health departments and other health education and prevention outlets to more aggressively promote treatment for what is quickly becoming an epidemic.
Give us some feedback on this one…do you agree with the findings of the study? Are there any hidden costs that were missed? Do you think this will spur more aggressive treatment of obesity? Feel free to comment in the area below or post on our Facebook page.