Obesity Costs Swell to 10% of Health Spending

The medical cost of obesity has almost doubled over the last decade to $147 billion annually, a new study finds. Treating obesity-related disorders now accounts for almost 10% of the total spending on health care, reports Bloomberg. Each obese person costs the government or insurers an average of $1,429—or 42%—more each year than people of normal weight.

"Obesity and with it diabetes are the only major health problems that are getting worse in this country, and they're getting worse rapidly," warned the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC, which funded the study, found that the incidence of obesity has more than doubled over the last 30 years and that one in three Americans is now obese. (More obesity stories.)