The Price of Childhood Obesity: Adds $20K to Lifetime Medical Costs

As the obesity epidemic in the United States continues to escalate, many children succumb to unhealthy dietary habits that could put them at a greater risk for weight-related health issues. In order to control and even prevent certain health risks, including type 2 diabetes and hypertension, many children will be placed on diets and/or medications to reduce these and other health conditions. Unfortunately, the cost of medical care required for an obese child also carries a heavy burden on the healthcare system. A recent study estimates that one obese child will cost close to $20,000 in medical care throughout his or her lifetime.

Researchers at the Duke Global Health Institute and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore analyzed existing lifetime costs of childhood obesity. They looked at expenses, including things from doctor visits to medications, discovering that 10-year-old obese children accounted for $14 billion in the United States alone.

"Reducing childhood obesity is a public health priority that has substantial health and economic benefits," said lead author Eric Andrew Finkelstein, Ph.D., M.H.A., via a press release. "These estimates provide the financial consequences of inaction and the potential medical savings from obesity prevention efforts that successfully reduce or delay obesity onset."

While some progress regarding this health issue has been made, childhood obesity continues to be a significant problem in the country. According to the a 2014 report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the obesity rate for American children in the two to five-year-old demographic dropped from 14 percent in 2003-04 to just above 8 percent in 2011-12, at a 43 percent decrease.

"We continue to see signs that, for some children in this country, the scales are tipping. This report comes on the heels of previous CDC data that found a significant decline in obesity prevalence among low-income children aged 2 to 4 years participating in federal nutrition programs," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, via a statement.  "We've also seen signs from communities around the country with obesity prevention programs including Anchorage, Alaska, Philadelphia, New York City and King County, Washington. This confirms that at least for kids, we can turn the tide and begin to reverse the obesity epidemic."

Though the exact reason for the drop has yet to be determined, medical officials believe that the reduced availability of sugary drinks in educational facilities could provide a partial explanation, along with a push for better nutrition in school and the home.

"Helping children from lifelong habits of healthy eating and regular exercise from an early age is one of the best investments that parents can make in their children's future," said the study's co-author, Wan Chen Kang Graham, via Health Day.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Pediatrics.