How Costly is Obesity?

The question is often asked, how costly is obesity?

According to RTI International and the US Centers for Disease Control, 15% of 6-17 year olds are overweight, and 3 out of 4 of these overweight teens will go on to become overweight adults at serious risk for a long list of serious and potentially fatal medical complications associated with excess weight.  In addition to the healthcare concern, obesity is also a financial concern.

The nation spends $147 billion annually on obesity, a cost that rivals smoking.   It is also determined that on average, each obese individual person costs the nation $1,429 per year in additional medical expenses. The obese also suffer an increased likelihood of co-morbid conditions, such as diabetes, some forms of cancer, osteoarthritis, heart disease and stroke, with costs specific to each disease that increases the burden on the consumer with out-of-pocket costs of treatment.

It is so obvious to me when I see the results of medical weight loss that physicians need to take a leading role in the fight against obesity.  One of the first comments I hear from physicians at Be-Thin, Inc. is that with medical weight loss, patients are able to come off their diabetes medications.  It is hard to believe physicians don’t know this until they go through initial training and start seeing patients, but another comment I recently heard from a physician was, “In medical school, I learned more about scarlet fever than weight loss, and yet I have never seen one patient for scarlet fever.”

Day after day we hear stories from our physicians as they change the lives of their patients through weight loss.  Taking patients off medications for high blood pressure and diabetes are commonplace occurrences.  As the world finds out about medical weight loss, I believe they will finally be able to lower health care costs by treating the root cause of most problems instead of chasing after the symptoms.

To find a medical weight loss center near you, visit www.centerformedicalweightloss.com.  It’s not really a miracle that you will become healthier when you lose weight, it’s a certainty.