By one estimate, the health care costs of obesity are responsible for nearly 21 percent of total health care spending in the U.S. (1) Countries with lower obesity rates than the U.S. spend a smaller share of their healthcare dollars on obesity, but the burden is still sizable. (2)

Table: A Snapshot of Obesity-Related Costs (1,2) Country Obesity-Related Costs

(% of total spending on health care) Publication Year Brazil 3.0–5.8 2007 China 3.4 2008 Canada 2.9 2001 France 0.7–1.5 2000 Japan 3.2 2007 Sweden 2.3 2005 U.S. 20.6 2012

References

1. Cawley J, Meyerhoefer C. The medical care costs of obesity: an instrumental variables approach. J Health Econ. 2012; 31:219-30.

2. Withrow D, Alter DA. The economic burden of obesity worldwide: a systematic review of the direct costs of obesity. Obes Rev. 2010. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2009.00712.x.

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