Weighed Down
10/17/2012 | | healthcare costs, liposuction, moderate obesity, overweight Americans, severe obesity, spending on healthcare
In 2010, the percentage of American adults who were 100 or more pounds overweight, severely obese, was 6.6%, or 15.5 million people, up dramatically from 3.9% a decade earlier, an increase of 70%! While moderate obesity (30 to 100 pounds overweight) raises healthcare costs by about 25%, severe obesity doubles them. Severe obesity is 50% higher among women than men, and is largely uncorrelated with age. Liposuction anybody?