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Obesity blamed for rising health care costs
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Treating obesity is a major cause for the rising cost of health care, according to a study by researchers at Emory University.
From 1987 to 2001, medical bills for obese people constituted 27 percent of the growth in overall health care spending, researchers reported in journal
Health Affairs. Treating obese patients was 37 percent more expensive than medical care for normal-weight people, they said. This amounted to an extra $301 per person over the 15-year period.
Treating obesity and associated diseases like diabetes is estimated to cost $93 billion a year.
Get the Story:
Obesity Gets Part of Blame for Care Costs
(The Washington Post 10/20)
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