Obesity rates in CT to rise, become more costly

Obesity rates in Connecticut will reach 33.6 percent by 2018, causing associated health care costs to surpass $2 million for the entire state and $1,052 per person, according to a new study released today.

The study was based on research by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and is the first report ever to project what the U.S. and each state will be spending five and 10 years from now on health care costs directly related to obesity.

In 2008, 26.1 percent of Connecticut's population was obese, which compares to one-third of all Americans who are obese. According to the study, if obesity rates in Connecticut remained at 2008 levels, residents in the state could expect to save $582 per person in health spending over the next 10 years.

At the national level, obesity accounts for nearly 10 percent of what the U.S. spends annually on health care. One-third of the increase in domestic health spending since the mid-1980s is linked to the doubling of obesity.

"This study demonstrates that as policymakers seek to make health care more affordable, addressing the obesity epidemic is vital," said Ken Thorpe, executive director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. "It threatens to ‘break the bank' of our health care system, and family budgets, if we don't take action."