CBO: How Does Obesity in Adults Affect Spending on Health Care?

How Does Obesity in Adults Affect Spending on Health Care? September 8, 2010, Economic and Budget Issue Brief

  • “Over the past two decades, the adult population in the United States has, on average, become much heavier. From 1987 to 2007, the fraction of adults who were overweight or obese increased from 44 percent to 63 percent; almost two-thirds of the adult population now falls into one of those categories. The share of obese adults rose particularly rapidly, more than doubling from 13 percent to 28 percent. That sharp increase in the fraction of adults who are overweight or obese poses an important public health challenge. Those adults are more likely to develop serious illnesses, including coronary heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. As a result, that trend also affects spending on health care. This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issue brief examines changes over time in the distribution of adults among four categories of body weight: underweight, normal, overweight, and obese.”
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