Obesity Incidence & Impact

Obesity, co-morbidities and healthcare costs are on the rise.

Obesity shortens life.

Not only does obesity lead to increased incidence and severity of disease, it has been statistically demonstrated that obesity shortens life and decreases the quality of life. A BMI greater than 30 has been clearly shown to place a physiologic burden on every organ system, ranging from heart and lung, to liver, immune system and skin.

A 25-year-old male with a BMI > 40 has an average lifespan 12 years shorter than he would at a healthy weight.

Obesity promotes harmful diseases.

Obese patients are a greater risk for more than 30 life-threatening co-morbid conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, stroke, sleep apnea, liver disease and heart conditions. The fact that obesity is a root cause for many common medical problems calls for a systematic plan of assessment and management for this condition that has been called the “disease of diseases.”

Obesity costs more.

The parallel rise in the rate diabetes and other obesity co-morbidities is associated with significant increases in the national cost of healthcare. In 2004, it was calculated that 9% of direct healthcare expenditures in the U.S. were attributable to obesity¹, and that patients with a BMI > 35 have 86% higher direct healthcare costs than their healthy weight counterparts.

The dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity over the last 25 years may also give healthcare providers a sense of urgency in the face of the obesity epidemic.

1. Milliman research, March 2004.