Can Americans Afford to be Obese?

Obesity Affects Life Insurance Cost and Health Costs

With the recent economic downturn the United States has seen, Americans are becoming more concerned with cutting costs across the board. From coupon clipping, to cutting vacations to...exercising? It's a fact that obesity increases an individual's health insurance and life insurance rates. According to a report by the US Department of Health and Human Services (1), on average people who are considered obese pay $1,429 (42 percent) more in health care costs than normal weight individuals. This is due to the fact that obesity causes increased risk of major health issues such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and types of cancer.

These increased health care costs not only affect the obese, they affect all of us. It is estimated that as much as $75 billion of our public health cost bill was attributable to obesity in 2003, about half of which was publicly financed, according to a report on The Future Cost of Obesity (2)

Life Insurance costs and coverage are also affected by obesity. Due to the array of health issues that obesity can cause, life insurance premiums are often calculated by taking into consideration an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a number calculated from a person's weight and height. BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. When a life insurance company is considering issuing a policy, the higher the BMI- the higher the premium will be.

The good news is that obesity is preventable by eating healthy and exercising. If general health and wellness isn't enough of a motivator, saving money now, helping to improve the US economy, and saving for the future are all important reasons to practice a healthy lifestyle.

To learn more about how life insurance costs are affected by health factors visit the Health and Wellness center at MatrixDirect.com.

Sources: US Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov

The Future Cost of Obesity: http://www.americashealthrankings.org

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