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Diet and Weight Loss

The Personal Costs of Obesity

People who are very overweight face many difficulties that their normal weight peers do not. Frequent doctor visits are a fact of life for very overweight people due to the development of weight-related disorders like diabetes and osteoarthritis. Along with the daily difficulties associated with these diseases, the very overweight person may be affected financially as a result of weight-related expenses.

Monetary Costs of Obesity
According to a June 2005 published study in the online version of the journal Health Affairs, per person health care spending for obese adults was 56 percent higher than for normal-weight adults in 2002. In 1987, obese adults with private health insurance spent $272 more per year on healthcare than did normal-weight adults. By 2002, that difference had increased to $1,244 per person per year.

According to a study published in the journal Economics and Human Biology in 2005, losing or gaining weight has a direct relationship with losing or gaining wealth. The study used data involving people who participated in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), a nationally representative survey conducted by Ohio State 's Center for Human Resource Research.

The study measured each participant’s body mass index (BMI) scores by using their individual height and weight figures as part of a mathematical calculation. The BMI score is a rough measure of how much excess weight a person may carry.

The study found that decreasing BMI by 5.8 points resulted in an increase in wealth by more than four thousand dollars ($4,085). In addition, when BMI was reduced by 10 points, which is considered a large weight change, a wealth increase as much as a $12,720 was observed. In general, a one-unit increase in a person's BMI was roughly associated with a $1,300 or 8 percent reduction in wealth. But the changes varied dramatically by ethnicity and gender.

No one can promise that a loss of weight using effective treatment strategies like weight loss surgery will lead to the kind of increased income seen in this study. But it’s reasonable to assume that the successful outcomes of weight loss surgery patients would result in lower medical costs and far fewer weight-related financial strains.

Beyond Dollars and Cents
In addition to the negative financial impact that excess weight carries, there are also impacts on quality of life. People who are severely overweight may have difficulty performing simple daily tasks, such as tying one’s shoes or walking up a flight of stairs. Many obese people have trouble sitting in standard furniture or fitting into airplane or movie theater seats.

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