Source: stuff.co.nz
“There is no question that being obese or overweight is more costly than being normal weight,” a 2010 George Washington University concluded of Americans.
Health minister David Clark said today obesity cost the taxpayer at least $624 million a year (“probably much more”), which would equate to a little under $500 per obese adult.
Clark was announcing a plan under which the food, beverage, retail and hospitality industries would self-regulate things like advertising and added sugar content in food and drinks in a bid to bring down obesity rates.
Estimates from overseas suggest the cost to the personal finances of obese people could be on average even higher.
George Washington University estimated the cost of being obese in 2010 was just over US$2600 for men, and just under US$4900 for women with healthcare costs, lower incomes and higher fuel bills all contributing.
Being merely overweight added cost to a life, the university found, but obesity was a personal finance killer.
Since the 1970s the western world has seen the obesity epidemic balloon as lifestyles and food intakes have changed, and New Zealand is now one of the fattest countries on the planet.
COST AND INCOME
There are two sides to the “cost” equation: costs and income.
Some costs are easy to work out, and are very personal. Others are harder to judge, or socialised through our health and benefits systems.
For example, insurance costs obese people more than people with healthy BMIs.
Pinnacle Life’s premium for $250,000 of life insurance for a healthy, non-smoking 40-year-old New Zealand European male with a BMI of around 25 (180cm and 80kg) would be $20.57 a month.
If he was 120kg (BMI of nearly 31), it’d cost $23.14. If he was 140kg, insurance would only be available after a medical examination.
Income protection and trauma insurance are more costly too for obese people.
They are also more likely to make joint-related claims on their health insurance, says Southern Cross, which can result in having to dip into their pocket to co-fund their treatment.
The obese are unlikely to qualify for any “healthy living” discounts insurers offer.
FUEL AND FOOD BILLS
Expense is often a matter of what the little things add up to.
Having to have a larger car to cope with a family of larger girth can mean having to go for a more costly, or older vehicle. And carrying around heavy loads means using more petrol.
It is estimated that obesity adds over a billion gallons a year to the US’ total petrol consumption.
Bigger calorie intakes can mean larger food and drink bills, especially if it involves buying fast food and takeaways.
And, research in 2012 by Auckland nutritionist Rebecca Whiting laid to rest the myth that junk food was cheaper than healthy food.
EDUCATION AND WORK
The Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (Superu) concluded in 2015, that obesity was a barrier to educational attainment in school, hindered people’s productivity, ability to lift their incomes, and ability to compete in the jobs market.
The UK’s National Health Service said depression was more common among obese people.
Overseas studies indicate women pay a higher income price for obesity than men, possibly as a result of societal prejudice.
A 2012 study published in the International Journal of Obesity involved asking people in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK to assess both obese and non-obese women for a managerial position.
The findings showed clear discrimination. It seemed that people who are not able to control their weight are judged as unable to control an organisation.
George Washington University found the biggest personal cost for obesity in the United States was “wage discrimination”.
WEIGHT REDUCTION COSTS
Dieting can be a big drag on the purse too with personal diet coaching at the New Weightwatchers costing $96.50 a month.
It’s much easier to keep weight off than it is to lose it.
Otago University’s Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research Centre’s film on the obesity epidemic leaves no doubts about the difficulty of losing weight.
The film featured Lesley Willocks, a man who decided to shed weight after a medical wake-up. It required a big change in diet, and huge jump in exercise.
“It’s a hard job to get rid of weight. It’s taken me about six years to lose 30kg.”
Six years that involved frequent swimming and 12,000 kilometres on a bike.
The university’s professor Jim Mann says: “The treatment of obesity is extremely difficult. The drugs that we have are extremely ineffective. There is not a single really useful drug available.”
And surgery costs a lot, with a gastric sleeve operation costing over $20,000.
It can even costs more to bury big people who need larger coffins.