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A Heavy Burden: The Individual Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the United States

More than 60% of the United States population is overweight or obese, and if the currenttrajectory continues, 50% of the population will be obese by 2030. There is no question thatbeing obese or overweight, is more costly than being of normal weight. Using existing literature,we have detailed the costs incurred due to overweight and obesity that affect working-age adultsat the individual level.In this report, we have provided estimates of annual, incremental costs of overweight and obesityfrom the individual perspective. However, in addition to the individual, employers, and to someextent, the government, bear some of the costs. Among the items discussed in this review,overweight or obese individuals bear the full burden for some costs, such as the value of lost life,lost wages, gasoline costs, and, when applicable, life insurance. Employers and employees sharethe burden for many other costs, including direct medical costs, short-term disability, disabilitypension insurance, absenteeism, and productivity losses. Employers directly pick up the costs formany of these expenditures. However, employees indirectly share part of this burden throughlower wages. In addition, through publicly funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, thegovernment pays a significant portion of direct medical costs for their beneficiaries.