The Obesity Charge

Tip

ping the scales at well above your ideal weight is not just a personal health problem. It also has a monetary cost that falls heavily on both the 64% of American adults who are obese and society at large.

Overweight and obese Americans spend $700 more a year on medical bills than those who are not overweight. That comes to a total of about $93 billion in extra medical expenses a year, says economist Eric Finkelstein of RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Many of these costs are passed on to all Americans in the form of greater premiums and copayments for health-insurance plans. Plus, notes Finkelstein, the average taxpayer shells out $150 to $200 a year to finance obesity-related medical expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

As individuals, overweight Americans shoulder numerous expenses beyond higher medical bills. In general, life-insurance premiums rise in proportion to your girth, even if you are otherwise in perfect health. Says Bill Simons, an independent insurance broker in Washington: "It could easily be double, triple or up to five times the normal premium."

The average $500,000 term-life-insurance policy for a 45-year-old male who weighs 188 lbs. or less costs about $375 a year, Simons says. If the policyholder weighs 252 lbs., the premium nearly doubles, to $740, and it jumps to $1,500 a year if he weighs more than 265 lbs.

"Eventually you could reach the point where you're declined because you're so far overweight that no one is going to insure you," says Simons. Obese Americans also face higher charges for disability insurance — if they are able to obtain it at all.

People who are rejected because of their size can turn to companies and agents that specialize in insuring folks with weight and health problems. At least one insurer is trying to make it easier for older overweight Americans to get life insurance. The Hartford Financial Services Group recently relaxed weight requirements for those ages 71 to 85, enabling them to get rates typically offered to only the healthiest applicants.

Many Americans who are carrying extra pounds are saddled with additional expenses, ranging from higher-priced clothing to the second seat an airline may charge them for flying. To make matters worse, they are often stuck paying these extra bills with a limited income: studies show the obese receive lower wages than the average worker. So the "fat tax" of increased insurance premiums and medical costs often falls on a slender wallet.

Sharon Epperson is a correspondent for CNBC