Obesity-attributable medical costs determined

AORN Journal,  April, 2004  

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Obesity-attributable medical expenditures in the United States reached $75 billion in 2003, according to a Jan 21, 2004, news release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About half of these costs were financed by Medicare and Medicaid. State expenditure estimates ranged from $87 million in Wyoming to $7.7 billion in California. Obesity-attributable Medicare expenditures ranged from $15 million in Wyoming to $1.7 billion in California, and Medicaid expenditures ranged from $23 million in Wyoming to $3.5 billion in New York.

The estimated percentage of states' obesity-attributable medical expenditures for 2003 ranged from 4% in Arizona to 6.7% in Alaska. Medicare expenditure percentages ranged from 3.9% for Arizona to 9.8% for Delaware, and Medicaid expenditures ranged from 7.7% in Rhode Island to 15.7% in Indiana. These figures confirm earlier findings that obesity accounts for a significant portion of the nation's medical expenditures.

Obesity Costs States Billions in Medical Expenses (news release, Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jan 21, 2004) http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc /media/pressrel/r040121.htm (accessed 2 Feb 2004).

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