The Cost of Obesity

The dollar menu at a fast food restaurant seems enticing to the pocketbook. Making a trip to the grocery store to stock up on healthy items just seems out of the way and expensive. Isn’t this the way many people think? The truth is that eating unhealthy low cost food will actually cost much more down the road.

Decades ago our relatives grew and cooked their own food. They raised the cows, chicken and pigs they would eat that week. They farmed what would be put on the table. These days this is called organic eating. They didn’t have the luxury of going to fast food restaurants and it shows in their health. Two thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese. Obesity related disease is now up to over 150 billion dollars a year in medical costs. According to the USDA overweight people are more likely to face high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, strokes and heart disease. Now we all cannot have a farm to raise all of our own food. How can we save money and be healthy at the same time?

Unhealthy foods at a low price can quickly add on the pounds. One thousand calories can be stacked in one little meal off that dollar menu. The same amount of calories from healthy foods will cost double that amount. Yes, it will save money today, but what about in ten years? The lifetime medical costs of disease linked to obesity is $10,000 more than the non-obese. Life insurance and health insurance premiums can almost triple for overweight people. Insurance companies must charge more for overweight clients because of the obesity-related health problems they may face in the future.

Healthy food high in fiber actually makes people feel full longer. Processed foods stuffed with sugar and fat leaves one hungry a few hours later. The money spent on the unhealthy food to subsidize an obese person will steadily drain the funds anyway. It is simple math. The overweight person will continue to snack on these high fat options all day while unknowingly making the risk greater of obesity-related disease. They will then go back to the store or restaurant for more and more of the unhealthy food. If they would have bought the more healthy food in the first place they would have ended up spending less money and not eating as frequently.

Fat costs money and time that we could be spending growing old with our families. It is never too late to start changing your life. So if you are not going to become a farmer, start making decisions at the grocery store and restaurants that will have the same effect on your health. Once disease hits and those medical bills roll in and those doctor visits pile up you will wonder if the dollar menu was worth it.