Healthcare Costs for Overweight and Obese Patients Grow

Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, July 13, 2009

Healthcare payers spent a lot more per person to treat those who were obese and overweight in 2006 than they paid in 2001.

That's the message from a new federal report that ranked spending on adult patients categorized by body mass index. The increased spending per person is attributed to greater expense of managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Those who are obese and overweight tend to have one or more such diagnoses, and also tend to have more of them than they did in 2001.

Spending increased 82% for people who were obese in that period, from $167 billion to $303 billion. For people who were classified as overweight but not obese, healthcare spending increased 36% from $202 billion to $275 billion. For people of normal BMI, treatment costs increased 25%, from $208 billion to $260 billion.

On an average spending per person basis, spending went from $3,458 to $5,148 for those classified as obese. For those who were overweight, the cost rose from $2,792 to $3,636. For each person of normal weight, the average costs rose from $2,607 to $3,315.

Additionally, the percentage of people classified as obese went from 23.6% of the population in 2001 to 27.2% in 2006, or 58.9 million. The number classified as normal or under weight stayed about the same. The percentage of people classified as overweight decreased slightly, from 35.4% to 34.9%, or 75.6 million. The percentage of people classified as normal weight dropped slightly from 39% to 36.1%, or 78.3 million.

The report said variables influencing higher costs included asthma, ischemic heart disease, angina, heart attack stroke, emphysema, and arthritis. Estimates for each year are in that year's dollars. Spending included the cost of doctor, hospital outpatient and emergency room visits, hospitalizations, home healthcare services, dental visits, other medical expenses and prescription drugs.

The report was prepared as part of a series of briefs issued from data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and was written by Marie Stagnitti of the Agency for Health Research and Quality.

The report was among four released in the last week pointing to the growing impact of obesity on the health status of Americans.

The first, issued by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showed that obesity in adults rose in 23 states in the past year and didn't decline in any of them. The state with the most obesity was Mississippi, followed by Alabama, West Virginia and Tennessee.

The second report came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said 26% of the population is now fully obese with two thirds of America either obese or overweight.

The third report last week was published in the journal Health Affairs, which said that while the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents had not increased, hospitalizations and the cost of care for those patients nearly doubled.

The four reports prompted the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society to warn that failure to fight the problem more aggressively could thwart meaningful efforts at health reform. "The impact of obesity on personal health is damaging enough, which such chronic diseases as diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis," said Mario Motta, MD, a cardiologist. "But the public health implications are enormous and the associated costs to treat obesity and its complications could hinder health care reform."


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Cheryl Clark is a senior editor and California correspondent for HealthLeaders Media Online. She can be reached at cclark@healthleadersmedia.com.

New Web site helps employers combat the obesity epidemic

By Joelle Atkinson
July 7, 2009

Responding to requests from the employer community, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched a new Web site titled LEANWorks!, which offers metrics and advice on weight-loss programs in the workplace.


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The CDC’s Web site is free and helps employers to calculate how much the obesity epidemic is costing them. For instance, online visitors can access an obesity cost-calculator that estimates obesity-related health costs based on workforce demographics.


Additionally, the online program comes equipped with a portal that assists employers in personalizing weight-loss programs, such as fitness classes, lunchtime health and education sessions and other wellness activities.


The CDC hopes the Web site will facilitate employers’ efforts to plan and execute interventions to stop obesity before it starts. “CDC has identified science-based interventions that work to prevent and control obesity. [The online program] provides the tools that employers need to take action,” says Dr. William Deitz, director of CDC’s division of nutrition, physical activity, and obesity.


Obesity can be a large risk factor for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The government reports that obese individuals tend to spend an average of 77% more on medications needed to combat their chronic diseases.


“Obesity affects more than just health care costs. It also has a significant impact on worker productivity because the more chronic diseases employees have, the more likely they are to be absent from work, or less productive if they come to work sick,” says Dr. Janet Collins, director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.


Many employers tend not to publish outcomes and results on their wellness and diseases programs in scientific journals. Consequently, researchers at the CDC personally visited businesses that had promising obesity prevention and control practices. Employers' testimonials on their weight-loss programs are also posted on the new Web site.


Related coverage:

Health Workforce Act may help, but employers, advisers must continue to promote

Well-being indices next on stock ticker?
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Despite slump, firms still promote — and pay for — wellness

Despite slump, firms still promote — and pay for — wellness