The True Cost of Obesity

A recent review which looked at improvements in illness and sick leave by employees who have had bariatric surgery got us thinking about the true cost of obesity. Of course, many of the impacts of being severely obese especially are impossible to put into dollars and cents. Still, there's no getting around the fact that, on top of the non-financial cost of being obese in terms of the length and quality of life, it's also very expensive.

The most obvious part of the equation, as we're keenly sware of of here at Dr. Feiz & Associates, are increased health care costs. Even with a decent insurance plan, prescriptions, frequent office visits, tests, outpatient procedures, and hospitalizations can really add up over the course of a lifetime.

That's just  one aspect of the cost side of the equation. Being severely obese can also really cut into income in a number of different ways. There's the increased number of sick days that may or may not be covered by employers but, more seriously for the individual, there's an increased chance of being out of work entirely. Sometimes there are health reasons for this and, sadly, workplace discrimination is a genuine issue for very obese obese individuals.

Fortunately, modern medical science is here with techniques that really do work, including procedures like a gastric sleeve with it's very many well documented benefits. It's a solution that really does add up.