Weighing the costs: Living with obesity not cheap

So you think that weight loss surgery is too expensive?  Well, how much does it actually cost to stay fat?  

It may be more costly than you realize.  Two-thirds of U.S. residents are overweight and one-third obese.  On a national scale, the cost of this excess weight is astronomical.  America spends as much as $147 billion annually on the direct and indirect costs of obesity.  This is projected to reach close to $1 trillion annually by 2030.

Economic experts tell us that we are spending outrageous amounts of money treating obesity-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  The personal lifetime medical costs related to diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and stroke among the obese are $10,000 higher than among the non-obese.

How does this relate to personal finance? Your health is your most important asset. Not your house. Not your car. Not your job. Not your retirement account. These are secondary. Your health is your most important asset.  The cost of weight loss surgery pales in comparison to the long-term costs of obesity health problems. 

Dr. Justin Braverman

One study found that in 2006, obese patients spent an average of $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight, or $1,429 more for their medical care than did people within a normal weight range. That is a 42 percent higher cost for people who are obese.  In fact, a study published by the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) found that bariatric patients pay as much as $900 less for healthcare per month as soon as 13 months after surgery than similar people who didn’t have surgery. 

The analysis also showed that for those receiving laparoscopic bariatric surgery, costs of surgery broke even within 2 years.

On a more personal scale, researchers say each overweight driver burns a minimum of 18 additional gallons of gas a year.  At more than $3 per gallon, this is a cost savings of more than $60 per year.  Plus-sized clothing costs 10 percent to 15 percent more than regular sized apparel. 

Research has shown that people who are not obese marry more, are paid more, are promoted more, sleep better and have better sex lives.  Your productivity in the workplace will jump as you take fewer sick days and spend less time at work feeling unwell. 

How much is a year of life worth? 

A study from Tufts Medical Center estimates that $100,000 to $300,000 is the average value that Americans place on a year of life.  It is well known that overweight people have shorter life spans.  Morbid obesity has been shown to take between 3 to 12 years off a person’s life.  That translates to somewhere between $300,000 and 3.6 million dollars!

You wonder if you can afford weight loss surgery.  A better question is can you afford to stay overweight?