Fat is the enemy of endurance and now it seems that fat is also the enemy of the national budget.
Being Obese is getting pretty expensive and we're all paying for it according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the tune of $147 billion in 2008.
Most of that money goes to treating obesity-related diseases.
Back in 2008 the bill for being fat was only 74 billion in 1998, according to a study by federal government researchers and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
“Obesity and with it diabetes are the only major health problems that are getting worse in this country, and they’re getting worse rapidly,” said Thomas Frieden, the CDC’s new director.
According to the Wall Street Journal:
"The findings were released at a conference on obesity held by the CDC in Washington, D.C. The prevalence of obesity rose 37% between 1998 and 2006, and medical costs climbed to about 9.1% of all U.S. medical costs, the researchers said.
Obese people spent 42% more than people of normal weight on medical costs in 2006, a difference of $1,429, the study found. Prescription drugs accounted for much of the increase."
