Societal Cost of Obesity Could Reach $1.1 Trillion

If all 12.7 million US youth with obesity become obese adults, the individual cost on average is just over $92,000, and the societal costs over their lifetimes may exceed $1.1 trillion, according to findings from the Brookings Institute.

"The lifetime costs of obesity are sobering to say the least," said University of California System President Janet Napolitano at an event today to discuss new research that quantifies the economic costs of obesity in the US.

Ms Napolitano—former US secretary of homeland security and former governor of Arizona—addressed findings from the Center on Social and Economic Dynamics at Brookings, in partnership with the World Food Center of the University of California-Davis, that estimate that if all 12.7 million US youth with obesity become obese adults, the individual cost on average is just over $92,000, and "the societal costs over their lifetimes may exceed $1.1 trillion."

Read more at Brookings: http://brook.gs/1AWWlDi