HIGH PRICE TO PAY
A George Washington University study added up the medical, disability and lost-productivity costs associated with obesity. The researchers came to this conclusion: Being fat costs a ton of money.
- The individual cost for being obese is $4,879 a year for women and $2,626 for men. If a woman invested that much every year over a 40-year working career, she’d have more than $1.2 million at retirement, assuming 8% average annual returns. The man would have nearly $700,000.
- Obesity carries dramatically higher costs than merely being overweight. The researchers found the annual costs of being overweight are $524 for women and $432 for men. “Overweight” is defined as a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29, while those with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese.
Obese workers had a 76% increase in risk for short-term disability compared with a normal-weight employee, the researchers found. (The risk rose 26% for overweight workers compared with their normal-weight colleagues.) Obese employees were more likely to suffer from long-term disabilities and to retire early. Early retirement results in lost wages and lower retirement benefits for most workers.
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Information like this can really confirm that taking charge of your health is not only smart, but fiscally responsible as well. Read the full article here:
http://money.msn.com/saving-money/what-being-fat-is-costing-you-weston.aspx?gt1=33029
