New research suggests that young adults in their 20s who are as little as 30 pounds overweight may pay lifetime medical bills that are $5,000 to $21,000 higher than their normal-weight. Meanwhile, extremely obese young adults (70 pounds or more overweight) will incur $15,000 to $29,000 more in lifetime medical expenses than healthy-weight peers, according to a study in the journal Obesity. These numbers take into account that heavy people have shorter life expectancies.
The data varied by ethnicity. According to the study, medical expenses are much greater in obese white women than obese black women, probably because white women tend to use more health services at every weight level. Correspondingly, white men's costs at 70 pounds overweight were slightly higher than black men's costs.
To learn more about the study:
- read this USA Today piece