Economic Impact of Overweight / Obesity

According to a study of national costs attributed to both overweight and obesity, medical expenses accounted for 9.1 percent of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 and may have reached as high as $78.5 billion ($92.6 billion in 2002 dollars).
Source: Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, and Wang, 2003

The percentage of the both the US and veteran populations that are overweight or obese continues to grow along with the costs for treatment.