Obesity's Big Impact

The incidence of clinically defined obesity in the U.S. adult population has reached 34%, more than double the incidence in 1980. A person is considered clinically obese when his or her body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher. The morbidly obese -- those whose BMI is 40+ -- represent the fastest-growing sector of obesity. Their average yearly health care costs exceed $7,500, nearly twice the average annual cost for adults who are not obese.

McKinsey estimates that the medical costs associated with clinically obese patients represent about 10% of the sum spent on health care premiums. Reducing the incidence of obesity back to 1980's level would generate $60 billion a year in net savings.

SOURCE: "Three Imperatives for Improving U.S. Health Care," The McKinsey Quarterly, December 2008.