The report, Obesity and its Relation to Mortality and Morbidity Costs, prepared by Donald Behan and Samuel Cox of the Society of Actuaries, is a review of almost 500 research articles on obesity and its relation to mortality and morbidity, focusing primarily on papers published from January 1980 to June 2009.
The study’s most convincing results concern the effect of overweight and obesity on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. The study estimated the total annual economic cost of overweight and obesity in the United States and Canada at approximately $300 billion in 2009. That $300 billion total cost includes:
- Total cost of excess medical care caused by overweight and obesity: $127 billion
- Economic loss of productivity caused by excess mortality: $49 billion
- Economic loss of productivity caused by disability for active workers: $43 billion
- Economic loss of productivity caused by overweight or obesity for totally disabled workers: $72 billion
