The Cost of Obesity1 

Obesity Defined

Adults: BMI of 30+

“Extreme or “Severe” obesity: BMI 40+

Children: BMI at 95th percentil or more for children of the same age and sex

Increase of Obesity Rates2 

Age 20 years and over

1988-19941999-20022003-20062007-20102011-2014
22.3%
30.5%
33.5%
34.9%
36.5%

Percent of Americans with Obesity3 

Adults (aged 20+): 37.9%

Adults with Severe Obesity (aged 20+, BMI 40+): 7%4 

Adolescents (aged 12-19): 20.6%

Children (aged 6-11): 17.4%

Children (aged 2-5): 9.4%

Determinants of Obesity5 

Race

Percent of adults 20 years and over who were obese, 2011-2014

White only: 35.3%

Black only: 48.2%

Asian only: 11.8%

Hispanic or Latino: 42.3%

Gender

Percent of adults 20 years and over who were obese, 1988-2014

1988-19941999-20022003-20062007-20102011-2014
Male
19.5%
27.5%
32.4%
33.9%
34.5%
Female
25.0%
33.4%
34.6%
35.9%
38.5%

Percent of adults 20 years and over who were obese, 2011-2014

White onlyBlack onlyAsian onlyHispanic or Latino
Male
34.3%
37.6%
11.7%
39.7%
Female
36.2%
56.9%
11.9%
45.0%

Socioeconomic Status

Below 100%
38.1%
100%-199%
41.9%
200%-399%
38.8%
400% or more
31.1%

Age

Percent of adults 20 years and over who were obese, 2011-2014

20-34 years35-44 years45-54 years55-64 years65-74 years75 years and over
Male
28.5%
39.8%
36.6%
38.1%
36.2%
26.8%
Female
33.4%
39.1%
41.7%
44.4%
40.7%
30.5%

Contributing Factors of Obesity

According to the 2017 State of Obesity Report, “The causes of obesity are complex and include individual, social and environmental factors, but… but it is clear that most Americans do not eat enough healthy food or get enough physical activity.”

  • >80% = adults who do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities6 
  • 80.2 million = the number of Americans who are physically inactive7 
  • >80% = percentage of Americans who do not eat enough vegetables8 
  • >70% = percentage of Americans who do not eat enough fruit9 
  • 40% = percentage of daily calories for children and adolescents age 2-18 year that are empty calories10 

The Human Cost

  • Each year, obesity is associated with 100,000 premature deaths
  • Severe obesity may shorten life expectancy up to 14 years11 

Obesity can lead to an increased risk for many disease and conditions including heart disease, stroke and diabetes, which are among the leading causes of death in the United States12 

  • 75% of hypertension cases are related to obesity13 

The Financial Cost

  • $150 billion = the annual cost of health care related to obesity in United States
  • $5 million – $1.3 billion = amount severe obesity costs individual state Medicaid programs
  • $8 billion = severe obesity related costs for state Medicaid programs 14 
  • $1 billion = the annual costs of healthcare and lost productivity amongst obese service members and their family
  • $6.3 billion = indirect costs associated with absenteeism attributable to obesity15 

Created by MPH@GW, the online MPH program from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University

1https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html 

2https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus16.pdf (p 238) 

3https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus16.pdf (p 221) 

4https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus16.pdf (p 241) 

5https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus16.pdf (p 238) 

6https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html 

7https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html 

8https://stateofobesity.org/files/stateofobesity2017.pdf 

9https://stateofobesity.org/files/stateofobesity2017.pdf 

10https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/nutrition/facts.htm 

11https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-extreme-obesity-may-shorten-life-expectancy-14-years 

12https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/health-risks-overweight 

13https://asmbs.org/patients/impact-of-obesity 

14https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26526251 

15 https://stateofobesity.org/files/stateofobesity2017.pdf