National Medical Spending Attributable To Overweight And Obesity: How Much, And Who's Paying?: Further evidence that overweight and obesity are contributing to the nation's health care bill at a growing rate.
Abstract
We use a regression framework and nationally representative data to compute aggregate overweight- and obesity-attributable medical spending for the United States and for select payers. Combined, such expenditures accounted for 9.1 percent of total annual U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 and may have been as high as dollar 78.5 billion (dollar 92.6 billion in 2002 dollars). Medicare and Medicaid finance approximately half of these costs.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Obesity has a specific impact on women's reproductive health, increasing the prevalence and severity of PCOS, infertility, pregnancy complications, gestational diabetes and fetal pregnancy complications, with substantial and escalating economic costs.
“Obesity has a specific impact on women's reproductive health, increasing the prevalence and severity of PCOS, infertility, pregnancy complications, gestational diabetes and fetal pregnancy complications, with substantial and escalating economic costs. 33,34”
From Assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome: Summary of an evidence-based guideline (2011) · cites this paper as [33]
Cites
Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000
Flegal, K. M. (2002) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.288.14.1723 · Cited by 6,190 · see citing works
The Disease Burden Associated With Overweight and Obesity
Must, A. (1999) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.282.16.1523 · Cited by 4,804 · see citing works
Prevalence and Trends in Overweight Among US Children and Adolescents, 1999-2000
Ogden, C. L. (2002) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.288.14.1728 · Cited by 4,060 · see citing works
The Journal of Family Practice
Geyman, J. P. (1997) · American Journal of Family Therapy · doi:10.1080/01926189708251066 · Cited by 3,088 · see citing works
The Continuing Epidemics of Obesity and Diabetes in the United States
Mokdad, A. H. (2001) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.286.10.1195 · Cited by 2,730 · see citing works
(1980) · Health Care Management Review · doi:10.1097/00004010-198005030-00017 · Cited by 2,529 · see citing works
Health insurance and the demand for medical care: evidence from a randomized experiment.
Manning, W. G., Newhouse, J. P., Duan, N., Keeler, E. B., Leibowitz, A. A., & Marquis, M. S. (1987) · PubMed · Cited by 2,045 · see citing works
The effect of age on the association between body-mass index and mortality
Stevens, J., Cai, J., Pamuk, E. R., Williamson, D. F., Thun, M. J., & Wood, J. L. (1998) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199801013380101 · Cited by 1,611 · see citing works
SUDAAN User's Manual, Release 7.5,
Bieler, G. S., Barnwell, B., & Shah, B. V. (1997) · Cited by 1,285 · see citing works
Current Estimates of the Economic Cost of Obesity in the United States
Wolf, A., & Colditz, G. A. (1998) · Obesity Research · doi:10.1002/j.1550-8528.1998.tb00322.x · Cited by 1,244 · see citing works
The Public Health Impact of Obesity
Visscher, T. L. S., & Seidell, J. C. (2001) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.22.1.355 · Cited by 1,025 · see citing works
The Effects Of Obesity, Smoking, And Drinking On Medical Problems And Costs
Sturm, R. (2002) · Health Affairs · doi:10.1377/hlthaff.21.2.245 · Cited by 987 · see citing works
The logged dependent variable, heteroscedasticity, and the retransformation problem.
Manning, W. (1998) · Journal of Health Economics · doi:10.1016/s0167-6296(98)00025-3 · Cited by 959 · see citing works
Medical costs of smoking in the United States: estimates, their validity, and their implications
Warner, K. E., Hodgson, T. A., & Carroll, C. E. (1999) · Tobacco Control · doi:10.1136/tc.8.3.290 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
The Financial Impact of Smoking on Health-Related Costs: A Review of the Literature
Max, W. (2001) · American Journal of Health Promotion · doi:10.4278/0890-1171-15.5.321 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Inflation Spurs Health Spending In 2000
Levit, K. R., Smith, C. E., Cowan, C. A., Lazenby, H. C., & Martin, A. (2002) · Health Affairs · doi:10.1377/hlthaff.21.1.172 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
The external costs of a sedentary life-style.
Keeler, E. B., Manning, W. G., Newhouse, J. P., Sloss, E. M., & Wasserman, J. (1989) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.79.8.975 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Reconciling medical expenditure estimates from the MEPS and the NHA, 1996.
Selden, T. M., Levit, K. R., Cohen, J. W., et al. (2001) · PubMed · Cited by 90 · see citing works
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
(1912) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1912.04260030182021 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Fiscella, K. A. (1999) · PubMed · Cited by 40 · see citing works
The effects of benefit design and managed care on health care costs
Goldman, D. P., Hosek, S. D., Dixon, L. S., et al. (1995) · Journal of Health Economics · doi:10.1016/0167-6296(95)00011-6 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
WRITING GROUP MEMBERS, Lloyd-Jones, D., Adams, R., Carnethon, M., De Simone, G., Ferguson, T. B., Flegal, K., Ford, E., Furie, K., Go, A., et al. (2009) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.108.191261 · Cited by 3,140 · see citing works
Popkin, B. M. (2006) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/84.2.289 · Cited by 1,522 · see citing works
Ogden, C. L., Yanovski, S. Z., Carroll, M. D., & Flegal, K. M. (2007) · Gastroenterology · doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2007.03.052 · Cited by 1,561 · see citing works
The economic burden of obesity worldwide: a systematic review of the direct costs of obesity
Withrow, D., & Alter, D. A. (2011) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1467-789x.2009.00712.x · Cited by 1,083 · see citing works
Supermarkets, Other Food Stores, and Obesity
Morland, K., Diez Roux, A. V., & Wing, S. (2006) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2005.11.003 · Cited by 1,037 · see citing works
Nordmann, A. J., Nordmann, A., Briel, M., Keller, U., Yancy, W. S., Brehm, B. J., & Bucher, H. C. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.3.285 · Cited by 973 · see citing works
Cost-of-illness studies: concepts, scopes, and methods
Jo, C. (2014) · Clinical and Molecular Hepatology · doi:10.3350/cmh.2014.20.4.327 · Cited by 800 · see citing works
Comparative Effectiveness of Weight-Loss Interventions in Clinical Practice
Appel, L. J., Clark, J. M., Yeh, H.-C., Wang, N.-Y., Coughlin, J. W., Daumit, G., Miller, E. R., Dalcin, A., Jerome, G. J., Geller, S., et al. (2011) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa1108660 · Cited by 783 · see citing works
Lustig, R. H., Schmidt, L. A., & Brindis, C. D. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/482027a · Cited by 793 · see citing works
Siega-Riz, A. M., Viswanathan, M., Moos, M.-K., Deierlein, A., Mumford, S., Knaack, J., Thieda, P., Lux, L. J., & Lohr, K. N. (2009) · American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology · doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2009.07.002 · Cited by 708 · see citing works
Food Prices and Obesity: Evidence and Policy Implications for Taxes and Subsidies
POWELL, L. M., & CHALOUPKA, F. J. (2009) · The Milbank Quarterly · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00554.x · Cited by 518 · see citing works
Lillis, J., Hayes, S. C., Bunting, K., & Masuda, A. (2009) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-009-9083-x · Cited by 459 · see citing works
Inadequate physical activity and health care expenditures in the United States.
Carlson, S. A., Fulton, J. E., Pratt, M., Yang, Z., & Adams, E. K. (2015) · Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases · doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2014.08.002 · Cited by 454 · see citing works
“To capture the skewed nature of health care expenditure data, a four-part econometric model was used.(20,26) In this four-part model, two probit models predicted the probability of having a positive health care expenditure and, among those with a”
Garland, T., Schutz, H., Chappell, M. A., Keeney, B. K., Meek, T. H., Copes, L. E., Acosta, W., Drenowatz, C., Maciel, R. C., van Dijk, G., et al. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Biology · doi:10.1242/jeb.048397 · Cited by 444 · see citing works
Obesity and Physical Inactivity in Rural America
Patterson, P. D., Moore, C. G., Probst, J. C., & Shinogle, J. A. (2004) · The Journal of Rural Health · doi:10.1111/j.1748-0361.2004.tb00022.x · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Estimating the Economic Burden of Racial Health Inequalities in the United States
LaVeist, T. A., Gaskin, D., & Richard, P. (2011) · International Journal of Health Services · doi:10.2190/hs.41.2.c · Cited by 378 · see citing works
Assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome: Summary of an evidence-based guideline
Teede, H. J., Misso, M. L., Deeks, A. A., Moran, L. J., Stuckey, B. G. A., Wong, J. L. A., Norman, R. J., Costello, M. F., & Groups, O. B. O. T. G. D. (2011) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/mja11.10915 · Cited by 379 · see citing works
Rynders, C. A., Thomas, E. A., Zaman, A., Pan, Z., Catenacci, V. A., & Melanson, E. L. (2019) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu11102442 · Cited by 339 · see citing works
Vegetarian diets and weight reduction: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Huang, R.-Y., Huang, C.-C., Hu, F. B., & Chavarro, J. E. (2016) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-015-3390-7 · Cited by 321 · see citing works
Fast‐Food Restaurant Advertising on Television and Its Influence on Childhood Obesity
Chou, S., Rashad, I., & Grossman, M. (2008) · The Journal of Law and Economics · doi:10.1086/590132 · Cited by 303 · see citing works
Epidemiologic aspects of overweight and obesity in the United States☆
FLEGAL, K. (2005) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.08.050 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Milk, Dairy Fat, Dietary Calcium, and Weight Gain: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescents
Berkey, C. S., Rockett, H. R. H., Willett, W. C., & Colditz, G. A. (2005) · Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.6.543 · Cited by 279 · see citing works
A National Study of Obesity Prevalence and Trends by Type of Rural County
Jackson, J. E., Doescher, M. P., Jerant, A. F., & Hart, L. G. (2005) · The Journal of Rural Health · doi:10.1111/j.1748-0361.2005.tb00074.x · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Villareal, D. T., Miller, B. V., Banks, M., Fontana, L., Sinacore, D. R., & Klein, S. (2006) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/84.6.1317 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Obesity and the Built Environment: Does the Density of Neighborhood Fast-Food Outlets Matter?
Li, F., Harmer, P., Cardinal, B. J., Bosworth, M., & Johnson-Shelton, D. (2009) · American Journal of Health Promotion · doi:10.4278/ajhp.071214133 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Gold, B. C., Burke, S., Pintauro, S., Buzzell, P., & Harvey‐Berino, J. (2007) · Obesity · doi:10.1038/oby.2007.520 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Trends in glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use, 2014 to 2022.
Watanabe, J. H., Kwon, J., Nan, B., & Reikes, A. (2024) · Journal of the American Pharmacists Association · doi:10.1016/j.japh.2023.10.002 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Wieland, L. S., Falzon, L., Sciamanna, C. N., Trudeau, K. J., Brodney Folse, S., Schwartz, J. E., & Davidson, K. W. (2012) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd007675.pub2 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Li, F., Harmer, P., Cardinal, B. J., Bosworth, M., Johnson-Shelton, D., Moore, J. M., Acock, A., & Vongjaturapat, N. (2008) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwn398 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
Sympathetic nervous system behavior in human obesity
Davy, K. P., & Orr, J. S. (2009) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.05.024 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
Public transit, obesity, and medical costs: Assessing the magnitudes
Edwards, R. D. (2008) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.10.004 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Trends in professional advice to lose weight among obese adults, 1994 to 2000
Jackson, J. E., Doescher, M. P., Saver, B. G., & Hart, L. G. (2005) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2005.0172.x · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Wolf, A. M., Siadaty, M., Yaeger, B., Conaway, M. R., Crowther, J. Q., Nadler, J. L., & Bovbjerg, V. E. (2007) · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · doi:10.1016/j.jada.2007.05.015 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
The effect of computers for weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials
Reed, V. A., Schifferdecker, K. E., Rezaee, M. E., O’Connor, S., & Larson, R. J. (2012) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-011-1803-9 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Jastreboff, A. M., Potenza, M. N., Lacadie, C., Hong, K. A., Sherwin, R. S., & Sinha, R. (2011) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2010.194 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
van den Broek-Altenburg, E., Atherly, A., & Holladay, E. (2022) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-022-13176-y · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Clune, A., Fischer, J. G., Lee, J. S., Reddy, S., Johnson, M. A., & Hausman, D. B. (2010) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.04.003 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Physical Activity: Economic and Policy Factors
McInnes, M., & Shinogle, J. (2009) · doi:10.3386/w15039 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Why WAIT? Preliminary evaluation of the weight assistance and intervention techniques (WAIT) group
Miller-Matero, L. R., Brescacin, C., Clark, S. M., Troncone, C. L., & Tobin, E. T. (2019) · Psychology, Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2019.1587478 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
- Authors
- Finkelstein, E. A., Fiebelkorn, I. C., & Wang, G.
- Affiliations
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
- Venue
- Health Affairs
- Publisher
- Health Affairs Publishing, LLC
- Published
- 2003-01
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- Suppl1
- Pages
- W3-219-W3-226
- ISSN
- 0278-2715 (ISSN-L)
- 1544-5208
- OpenAlex
- W1991694904
- Cited by
- 1,135
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 54 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 61 · 2012: 68
- FWCI
- 67.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Affairs (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (200-97-0621)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Healthcare Policy and Management
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
- Keywords
- obesity, overweight, health care costs, cost attribution, Medicare, Medicaid, health care spending, health insurance payers, United States
- MeSH terms
- Health Expenditures, Medicare, Humans, Insurance, Health, Medicaid, Obesity, Regression Analysis, United States, Cost of Illness, Health Care Surveys
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
