Obesity Rates Will Continue to Increase, Drive Health Care Costs in Pennsylvania Over Next Decade, According to New Study

A new report released today based on research by Emory University Health Care Economist Ken Thorpe, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), shows increasing obesity rates in Pennsylvania and across the country will result in higher health care spending for states and individuals. The study, which was commissioned by UnitedHealth Foundation, Partnership for Prevention, and American Public Health Association in conjunction with their annual Americas Health Rankings report, is the first to estimate obesity prevalence and costs at the state and national level 10 years from now.

The study, “The Future Cost of Obesity: National and State Estimates of the Impact of Obesity on Direct Health Care Expenses,” shows that 42 percent of Pennsylvanian’s will be obese and associated health care costs will surpass $13.5 billion by 2018.

“This study demonstrates that as policymakers seek to make health care more affordable, addressing the obesity epidemic is vital,” said Thorpe. “It threatens to ‘break the bank’ of our health care system, and family budgets, if we don’t take action.”

In 2008 approximately 33 percent of Pennsylvanians were obese, which compares to national rates of obesity. According to the study, if obesity rates in Pennsylvania over the next ten years remained at 2008 levels, residents in the state could expect to save $796 per person in health care spending.

“With obesity rates in Pennsylvania mirroring rates nationally, we face a health epidemic that could cripple our health and economy in the next ten years,” said Jessica Boyer, President of Pennsylvania Public Health Association.

At the national level, obesity accounts for nearly 10 percent of what the U.S. spends annually on health care. One-third of the increase in domestic health spending since the mid-1980s is linked to the doubling of obesity.

“As Dr. Thorpe’s research underscores, the need to address obesity and related chronic conditions, and ensure prevention is part of the solution that falls on all of us,” added Ms. Boyer.