According to a new study from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health a forty year old who goes from being obese to overweight will save approximately $18,262 in medical costs and productivity losses (missed work days) throughout his or her lifetime. If this same individual transformed from being obese to a healthy weight, the average savings would be $31,447.
A high body mass index (BMI) is linked to a higher risk of serious conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. These conditions ultimately lead to high medical costs and potential productivity losses. If we were to look at the direct medical costs alone of the 70 percent of adults in the United States that are considered to be overweight or obese, the costs reach up to nearly $210 billion per year.
It’s never too late to cash-in on the benefits of a healthy weight. Below are the average savings of individuals who drop from an obese BMI to a healthy weight.
Twenty-year-old: $28,020
Thirty-year-old: $27,331
Forty-year-old: $31,447
Fifty-year-old: $36,278
Sixty-year-old: $34,649
Seventy-year-old: $29,424
Eighty-year-old: $16,882
So there you have it. Lose weight now, gain weight in your wallet.