U.S. obesity costs soar as nation packs on pounds

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(CBS News) Obesity is rising in America, that's no secret - but are people aware of the rising economic costs of those extra pounds? According to a new study from the Campaign to End Obesity, spending due to obesity is actually twice the amount previously estimated - and exceeds the costs of even smoking, Reuters reports.

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What's more, those medical costs affect everyone, not just those who are obese. Higher health insurance premiums lead everyone to cover those extra medical costs. The U.S. spends an excess of $190 billion a year, the study found.

Obesity results in physical changes outside of individuals' waistlines - from wider stadium seats to sturdier, floor-mounted toilets (in comparison to the wall-mounted kind), businesses need to spend more to accommodate widening bodies.

The Daily Mail reported at the country's fourth largest hospital at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, administrators have had to widen doors, replace wall-mounted toilets with floor models able to hold more than 250 pounds, bought plus-size wheelchairs (costing double the price of a regular model) as well as get mini-cranes to hoist obese patients out of bed.

Cars burn nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more a year than they did in 1960, due to heavier passengers and in the skies, fuel costs have risen to carry carry heavier customers. Not to mention the skyrocketing costs of missed work days from people taking off because of poor health.  The impact of obesity is everywhere.

"Smoking added about 20 percent a year to medical costs," Dr. James Naessens, researcher at the Mayo Clinic, told Reuters. "Obesity was similar, but morbid obesity increased those costs by 50 percent a year."

Reuters has more on the rising costs of obesity.

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Living large? 31 ginormous goods for plus-size people

[jamesfe724]

The problem with America is we facilitate these people who enjoy this obese lifestyle and their bad habits. Obese people should pay more for airline tickets, stadium seating, insurance costs, lose jobs for being obese, etc. All the other taxpayers should not have to pay for these people's terrible bad habits of stuffing their faces full of food and unhealthy lifestyle. I love food just as the next person, but I'm not going to go out there stuff my face with a bunch of junk. I agree our health premiums should include a way to include a weight/height/waist measurement. Let those morbidly obese people pay more for their lifestyle.

[honestabe8]

And how do you intend on monitoring this? Another level of bureaucracy? While the morbidly obese are paying more for their lifestyle, how about getting smokers to pay more? how about drinkers? how about sedentary people? i don't see how that is doable

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

What's more, those medical costs affect everyone, not just those who are obese. Higher health insurance premiums lead everyone to cover those extra medical costs. The U.S. spends an excess of $190 billion a year...
---
Fat people take money out of all of our pockets.

Charge health insurance premiums by the pound.

[honestabe8]

if you charge insurance premiums by the pound, it will get people to lose the pounds, but not necessarily be healthier. an anorexic smoker is likely a greater health burden than an overweight non-smoker. there are so many factors that go into health, to use one and only one seems to distract from health's complex nature

[---rynochaser---]

Not much you can do as most of these people live in the south and think dinosaurs and humans coexisted and cutting down to = one big gulp of mountain dew is dieting.

[KPeters_from_UK]

To all those fat Tea Party baggers who scream that they don't want to pay for a woman's contraception how about the rest of us don't pay for your obesity problems?

Remember 58% of women who take contraception do so for other medical reasons such as cystitis or infertility.

[RJknowstomuch]

You guys going to leave any comments on the site?

[RJknowstomuch]

Funny that they deleted all the prior comments.

[RJknowstomuch]

Put a tax on them all. If Libs want collectivism then the people who need all the help should pay for it. If they don't want to pay for it then stop eating or stop smoking.

[pandian_cnnarayanasamy]

Obesity ending will require change in food habits which is not easily possible to leave eating of Beef,meat,fish,pork,chicken,soft drinks etc.,. But changing to veg food habit with less milk,soya,coconut,cashew nut fat foods will help certainly.

[Palmer_Eldritch]

Bill them for the extra costs. Why should taxpayers with a healthy BMI be forced to pay for the extra costs of the morbidly obese? This isn't rocket science. If you want to live large, then here's the bill.

[tomdroid]

Big is beautiful. Stop discriminating against slovenly, disgusting fat people!