Overweight, fat and obese are not popular terms, but they accurately describe the personal problem facing much of the American population. This translates into more than health problems. Obesity has serious economic costs that affect the individual, the employer and the community.
Obesity Defined
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says "American society has become obesogenic." The agency defines this condition as a combination of poor eating habits and a lack of physical activity. The latter, however, does not mean outside exercise; it simply means movement of any kind. Excessive portions of food, especially unhealthy food, contribute to the condition.
Obesity is expressed by the CDC as a body mass index. The BMI is calculated by taking weight in kilograms and then dividing that number by the height of the person in meters squared. That number is rounded to the nearest tenth. A chart is then used to define a healthy BMI index. Obesity is a BMI of 30.0 or higher.
Personal Economic Costs
A study done by the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in January 2010, confirms a steady increase in American obesity rates--particularly in adult women. The personal costs of obesity are in the billions of dollars.
Medical costs related to obesity include Type 2 diabetes, cancer, hypertension and liver and gallbladder disease. The CDC also links high BMI to gynecological problems (including infertility), stroke and high cholesterol. Sleep apnea and respiratory ailments are also linked to increased weight over the normal BMI. These conditions increase personal health costs, including a nearly 77 percent increase for medications, according to the CDC.
Lost Productivity
Although the exact link between specific diseases and obesity is impossible to document, there is a direct correlation between poor employee health and lost productivity. Forbes magazine reported in 2006 that "Obese people miss more work, costing employers something on the order of $4 billion." The magazine also chronicled the hidden costs of obesity, including extra fuel costs spent by airlines flying obese passengers and increased gasoline for autos for larger employees.
Business Costs
Insurance costs related to obesity are significant, with costs easily surpassing $10 billion. Supplemental insurance payments by companies and small businesses cover a portion of these costs. As additional care is needed, insurance companies turn to businesses to contribute additional amounts to cover the premium. American businesses, now finding dwindling resources to cover insurance costs, are passing increased costs to their employees or dropping insurance coverage.
Significance to American Economy
Medicare and Medicare payments related to obesity total at least $20 billion, based on projections in the wake of data compiled by the Medical Expenditure Panel and National Health Interview Survey. These figures do not include the U.S. population classified as overweight, only those in the obese category.
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