What are the Financial Costs of Obesity

Financial costs of obesity add up. How much does obesity cost every year? How much do people pay for health care and related expenses? The numbers may astound you: What are the financial costs of obesity?.

Q: What is the monetary cost of obesity and its effects?

A: The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases provides the following statistics regarding the cost of obesity and some of its health consequences:

Q: What is the cost of overweight and obesity?
A: Total cost: $99.2 billion
• Direct cost: $51.6 billion (5.7 percent of the U.S. health expenditure)


• Indirect cost: $47.6 billion (comparable to the economic costs of cigarette smoking)

Q: What is the cost of heart disease related to overweight and obesity?

A: Direct cost related to overweight and obesity: $6.99 billion (17 percent of the $40.4 billion total direct cost of heart disease, independent of stroke)

Q: What is the cost of type 2 diabetes related to overweight and obesity?

A: Total cost related to overweight and obesity: $63.14 billion (more than 60 percent of the total cost of type 2 diabetes)

Q: What is the cost of osteoarthritis related to overweight and obesity?

A: Total cost related to overweight and obesity: $17.2 billion

Q: What is the cost of hypertension (high blood pressure) related to overweight and obesity?

A: Direct cost related to overweight and obesity: $3.23 billion (17 percent of the total cost of hypertension)

Q: How much do we spend on weight loss products and services?

A: Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight-loss products and services.20 (This figure represents consumer dollars spent in the early 1990s on all efforts at weight loss or weight maintenance including low-calorie foods, artificially sweetened products such as diet sodas, and memberships to commercial weight-loss centers.)

_{Source: NIDDK Stats Related to Overweight and Obesity}