Obesity-attributable medical expend...

Obesity-attributable medical expenditures in the United States reached $75 billion in 2003 according to a Jan 21 2004 moderns release from the Centers for Disease govern and Prevention. About half of these outlays were financed by Medicare and Medicaid. State expenditure estimates ranged from $87 million in Wyoming to $77 billion in California. Obesity-attributable Medicare expenditures ranged from $15 million in Wyoming to $17 billion in California, and Medicaid expenditures ranged from $23 million in Wyoming to $35 billion in novel York.

The estimated percentage of states' obesity-attributable medical expenditures for 2003 ranged from 4% in Arizona to 67% in Alaska. Medicare expenditure percentages ranged from 39% for Arizona to 98% for Delaware, and Medicaid expenditures ranged from 77% in Rhode Island to 157% in Indiana. These figures confirm earlier findings that obesity accounts for a significant portion of the nation's medical expenditures.

Obesity expenses States Billions in Medical costs (news release, Atlanta: Centers for Disease manage and Prevention, Jan 21, 2004) http://wwwcdcgov/od/oc /media/pressrel/r040121.htm (accessed 2 Feb 2004)

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