The Cost of Obesity in America

Obesity rates in the United States have tripled since the 1960s and doubled since the 1980s. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, a national epidemic that contributes to chronic disease, disability, and death, and places a large financial strain on the health care system.

While a healthy diet and regular exercise are key to obesity prevention, the causes of obesity are varied and complex — with economic, social, and environmental factors. This means the disease is not only difficult to pin down but it’s also inequitably experienced. Black women, for example, are more likely to be obese than any other demographic group, while Asian men and women have the lowest body mass index ratings.

Below, we examine the scope of this health issue, including who is most affected and how much it is costing us as a nation.

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  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

  1988-1994	1999-2002	2003-2006	2007-2010	2011-2014
  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

  	1988-1994	1999-2002	2003-2006	2007-2010	2011-2014
  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 only	Black only	Asian only	Hispanic 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 years	35-44 years	45-54 years	55-64 years	65-74 years	75 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

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  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 

Citation for this content: MPH@GW, the online MPH program from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University