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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plays a key role in tracking data on the burden of obesity and its related racial and ethnic disparities to provide information that can highlight areas where state and local actions are most needed. Until further innovations allow for measured data on height and weight to be available for all states, self-reported data are the best source for understanding where the burden of obesity is highest among different populations. This understanding is critical given that the prevalence of obesity is increasing among adults in the United States (1). As such, obesity continues to put a strain on overall health status, health care costs, productivity, and the capacity for deployment and readiness of military personnel. Adults with obesity often have multiple-organ system complications from the condition and, as a result, are more at risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and multiple types of cancers (2). The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States was 147 billion in 2008 (3). Compared with spending for someone of normal weight, medical spending for a person with obesity was 1, 429 higher (42% higher) per year (3). Adult obesity decreases productivity, and the cost of lost productivity is between 3. 4 and 6. 4 billion per year (4). Adult obesity also increases the risk of workplace injuries (2). Obesity among young adults limits the eligibility for many to serve in our military, given the weight standards for recruitment that nearly 1 in 4 young adults are not able to meet (5).
Petersen et al. (2019) studied this question.