Healthcare Costs for Overweight and Obese Patients Grow

The report was among four released in the last week pointing to the growing impact of obesity on the health status of Americans.

The first, issued by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showed that obesity in adults rose in 23 states in the past year and didn't decline in any of them. The state with the most obesity was Mississippi, followed by Alabama, West Virginia and Tennessee.

The second report came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said 26% of the population is now fully obese with two thirds of America either obese or overweight.

The third report last week was published in the journal Health Affairs, which said that while the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents had not increased, hospitalizations and the cost of care for those patients nearly doubled.

The four reports prompted the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society to warn that failure to fight the problem more aggressively could thwart meaningful efforts at health reform. "The impact of obesity on personal health is damaging enough, which such chronic diseases as diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis," said Mario Motta, MD, a cardiologist. "But the public health implications are enormous and the associated costs to treat obesity and its complications could hinder health care reform."