A recent study at Emory University shows excess weight can impact your wallet as well as your health.

According to the study, led by Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., rising obesity rates accounted for 27% of the growth in health spending.  That equaled a whopping $301 increase per person per year. The researchers attributed the increase mainly to treatment costs for obesity-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease and hyperlipidemia.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that obesity-related health costs are around $93 billion a year, but the Emory study was the first to examine obesity's overall impact on the growth in health spending. The study, published in Health Affairs, compared medical spending between obese and normal-weight individuals. Participants who were classified as "obese" had a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher. Researchers found a 38% increase in spending for diabetes among the obese, a 22% increase for hyperlipidemia and 41% increase for heart disease. Obesity-related health costs aside from those diseases accounted for 12% of spending increases.

"The impact of weight on per capita spending is sizable," Thorpe said in an interview. "Although we attributed the growth in health care spending to three of the major conditions, spending is also affected by the rising prevalence of gallstones, some forms of cancer, and other obesity-linked diseases."

Obese people spent an estimated 15.2% more per person than normal-weight people. Health spending among normal weight individuals increased by 37%, while spending by obese people increased by 63%.

According to the Emory study, "Over the fourteen-year study period, the proportion of the population with normal weight decreased by thirteen percentage points, and the proportion categorized as obese increased by 10.3 percentage points."

That may not sound like much, but according to the CDC, an estimated 64% of Americans are overweight, with almost half of those being obese--a dramatic increase from figures before 1980. The increase in obesity is also affecting the nation's children. The number of overweight children and adolescents has more than doubled since the 1970s, leaving an estimated 16% of children and adolescents ages 6–19 overweight or obese, according to the CDC.

The Emory study recognized both the economic and health-related dangers of these figures. "Obesity has a sizable impact on the U.S. health care system," the study stated. "It is associated with higher rates of mortality, even among those without other risk factors such as smoking or a previous medical condition."

Finally, the study ended on a sobering note for those concerned with the health and economic costs of obesity.

"To date," stated the study, "there is no evidence that the rise in the share of the U.S. population with BMI greater than 30.0 is abating."

"We've got to find ways to get the rates of obesity stabilized or falling," Thorpe said. "We need to find effective interventions to deal with this on multiple levels...because clearly this is a major driver in terms of growth in health care spending."

Translation? Without drastic measures, the toll of obesity on the U.S. is only going to get worse. Are you prepared for the cost?

To learn how to prevent excess weight from taking a toll on your life, contact your nearest Positive Changes center at 1-877-POSITIVE.