More than 1 in 3 adults are obese in 23 states, including Georgia. That’s according to the latest data from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, according to projections, those numbers could look much worse over the next decade.
The CDC recently released its 2023 Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps. Using telephone interview survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, it determined how many adults had a body mass index of 30 or higher. Thirty is roughly 62% higher than the BMI of “healthy weight” adults. The South averaged 34.7% for obesity prevalence, with Georgia coming in just above that regional average at 35%. Before 2013, no state had an obesity prevalence that high.
By 2035, according to the 2024 Joint Economic report released in June, as many as 57.5% of adults may have the chronic disease.
“These results are significant for several reasons,” the report said. “First, even using a low-end projection of obesity rates, it is expected that by 2032 more than half the U.S. adult population will be obese. In our near term projection, based on the past 10 years of obesity growth rates, the adult obesity rate can be expected to eclipse half the adult population as soon as 2027.”
And it’s causing a “drag” on the nation’s economy. Just how much of a drag? Over the next 10 years, it may become 50% larger than all of America’s 2023 federal budget.
“There are three primary contributors to the overall economic cost of obesity: medical expenditures, labor productivity reductions, and labor supply reductions due to poor health,” the report continued. “Given updated obesity prevalence figures, it is prudent to update the calculations of excess medical costs due to obesity. This year’s estimates include private spending on obesity treatments to understand obesity’s overall impact on the economy. We estimate that obesity will result in $8.2 to $9.1 trillion in excess medical expenditures over the next 10 years.”
But it’s not just pricey for the country’s economy; those extra costs can be felt on an individual level, too.
“Health care for obesity is expensive for patients and the health care system,” the CDC reported. “In 2019 dollars, annual medical costs for adults with obesity were $1,861 higher per person than adults with healthy weight. For adults with severe obesity, the excess costs were $3,097 per person. This accounts for nearly $173 billion in medical expenditures in 2019 dollars.”
And the cost is often more than monetary.
“Many adults with obesity have other serious chronic diseases,” the CDC said. “For example, 58% of U.S. adults with obesity have high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. Also, approximately 23% of U.S. adults with obesity have diabetes.”
According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, obesity is linked to 40 other diseases, including stroke and certain types of cancer. Worldwide, at least 2.8 million people die each year from being overweight or obese.
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