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Reducing Obesity Rate Could Save Billions Annually

According to the most recent publication of America’s Health Rankings by the United Health Foundation, the U.S. has seen a decrease in the rate of cardiovascular deaths of 38 percent per 100,000 people over the past 25 years. Unfortunately, this remarkable improvement has been simultaneously countered by a 42 percent increase in the number of obese adults. While fewer people are dying from cardiovascular disease, more people are living with multiple other chronic conditions associated with obesity, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer.[1] These chronic conditions are costly to treat and contribute to an increase in the nation’s health expenditures. One study found obesity to raise an individual’s annual medical costs by $2,741 (in 2005 dollars). Adjusting this estimate for the annual rate of medical care inflation, the aggregate additional medical costs of treating the growing number of obese individuals may now be as high as $275.7 billion, roughly 9 percent of the nation’s annual health expenditures. However, according to research by the Urban Institute, investments in community-based programs to treat and prevent obesity could save $16 billion per year.

 

 


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